Through The Darkness
by TimelessHeart
Summary: The Tenth Doctor and the Torchwood crew get the shock of their lives when an unexpected visitor arrives on Earth. What is she, if she isn't what they thought she was? No recognisable characters are mine, though I can dream.
1. Revelations

OK, people, here we go. As always, reviews are welcomed as are thoughts and pointers. Read on and I hope you like it.

Chapter One: Revelations

As the rotor on the central column came to a smooth halt, a soft thud rang out from beneath the console, followed by a string of curses. Long slim legs kicked, then shimmied out, revealing rounded hips and a slim waist. A pair of long fingered hands gripped the edge of the console and the rest of the body emerged, showing firm high breast, a slender throat, a heart shaped face and a cascade of long dark red hair with a black strip running down the left side. Evie wiped her hands on the legs of her black jeans, pulled her red polo jumper down over her slightly rounded belly and turned the monitor to face her. The soft green light that shone down on her from the rotor gave her pale skin a luminous quality. Each strand of hair came alive with an unreal shimmer of green fire and her emerald eyes seemed to practically glow as she read from the screen. When the machine hummed at her, her left eyebrow raised in question. "What do you mean, we've landed?" she asked aloud, apparently to no one, for she was very much alone on the strange vessel.

The answering hum made her frown. "We can't have just landed!" she told the machine. "I didn't give you any co-ordinates and, I know you didn't pick any,"

At an offended beep, she took a deep breath to calm her rattled nerves. "No, no. I'm not annoyed, I'm just... puzzled. I mean, we've spent so long and worked so hard to stay away from here, I can't think what could've drawn us to Earth. Let's see, where are we?"

She gave the monitor a light tap and watched as the image of their surroundings blinked into life. "Cardiff? What's so special..? Oh, I see. We're on a rift. Time to refuel then. How long do you think you'll need?"

A low hum answered her and she huffed in annoyance. "Alright then, twenty four hours. I can entertain myself for a whole day. No problem. Let's have the handbrake on this time," she said, pulling down a blue lever then turning one of the many silver dials and then finally pressing a green button. "We don't need you getting yourself carted off again. I think it's time I met the natives,"

With a bark of laughter she bounded from the console and down the ramp, snagging her long black coat from the side coral arch. Stopping when she reached the doors, she quickly patted down her pockets, then turned the Yale lock on the door. With a deep breath of excitement, she flung the door open wide and stepped out, closing it behind her. People walked by, not bothering to look at her or they simply didn't notice her. The sun was warm on her face and the gentle breeze caused her hair to tickle her jaw. "Right then!" she said, rubbing her hands together. "Let's see what you've come as this time, shall we?" With that, she turned on her heal and stepped back, only to look up at her ship with wide eyes and an open mouth. After a few seconds spluttering, she pulled herself together to frown up at the ship. "A box?" she asked in disbelief. "A big, blue, box. Why would you want to choose that? I mean, it's not unflattering, but you do kinda stick out a bit,"

At the slight tingle in her mind, she chuckled to herself. "Alright, alright. I'll go explore,"

After almost a half hour of walking down the streets and past shop windows, she was finally deciding that she was hungry when she heard someone shouting. Though she glanced around, she couldn't see anyone she might have recognised, so she carried on walking. As the shouts came closer, she looked back again and it was then that she saw a man running towards her. She looked behind her to see if anyone else was going to answer his calls, but seeing that no one was, she came to a quick and – even if she said so herself – brilliant decision. She bolted. Without a second, or third, thought, she ran, easily slipping through the crowd, her long legs and extra stamina eating up the ground beneath her feet. She hadn't spoken to anyone, hadn't stopped for anything, so he couldn't possibly mean her, right? Well, she wasn't about to stop and ask.

Instead, she put more effort into her running, looking around for a possible rout that would lead her back to her ship. Stopping at the edge of a pavement, she rubbed at the stitch in her right side as she tried to catch her breath. When she looked back she found that she couldn't see the man that had been chasing her, but she wasn't about to thank her lucky stars just yet. Turning back, she felt her lungs stall as she met the dark eyes of a slim man standing on the other side of the road. She didn't know him, she was sure of that, but there was something about him. Maybe it was the shock that she saw on his face as he looked at her, or maybe it was the slight tingling sensation at the back of her mind that she felt as she looked at him. She didn't know. Before she could dwell on it though, a hard shove to her back sent her tumbling straight onto the road.

The black car had no chance of seeing her and less chance of stopping in time as it sped towards her. Her eyes met the terrified eyes of the male driver a split second before everything around her froze. Time became quiet and still as she pushed herself to her feet and quickly stepped back onto the pavement. Even so, she saw him. The man across the street, the one with the dark eyes, moved, and she let go of her grip on time, fighting the nausea as events sped up and resumed their normal pace. Seeing no sign of her follower, she made her way back to her ship, not once looking back. If she'd thought about it a little longer, if she had looked back, she would've paid more attention to her surroundings. So when a strong arm wrapped itself around her waist and a large hand clamped over her mouth, both dragging her into a side alley, she could've kicked herself.

As it was, all she could do was pull at the hand over her mouth and mumble words into the palm. "What'd you say?" hissed a man's voice in her left ear. For a reply, she sank her teeth into the flesh between his thumb and index finger, wriggling free when he lost his hold on her and began cursing.

"What'd you do that for?" he demanded as she faced him, never one to back down from a challenge if she knew she could win. Ice ran through her veins as she looked at the face of the dark eyed man. Brown. His eyes were brown, not black as she had first thought. It wasn't the colour of his eyes that made her blood run cold though. It was what was behind them. Pain and loss and disbelief. Time is what lay behind his gaze and she should know. It's what she saw whenever she looked into a mirror. Time.

"I said I'd bite you,"she told him, keeping her voice calm even though what she really wanted to do was run. "You stay away from me. I don't know who you are, but you just leave me alone,"

"Why?" he asked, directing a dark frown at her as she backed away from him into the wall behind her.

"You drag me into an alley and you ask me why I don't want you near me," she muttered, pushing away the tingling feeling from her mind with a mental slap, inwardly satisfied when she noticed his small wince.

"Don't you recognise me?" he asked, holding his hands out in question. "Don't you recognise that feeling inside your head? That small tickle, filling a part of you that's been empty for such a long time,"

"There's nothing there," she told him, edging out of the alley, keeping her eyes on him. "As I already said, I don't know you,"

"You have to!" he told her, lunging towards her and grabbing hold of her shoulders, effectively pinning her against the wall as he glared down at her. "You must know who – what I am! Where'd you come from? How long've you been here?"

"Get off me!" she demanded, pushing him away, turning to run out of the alley only to stumble to a halt when she saw the man that'd been following her through the crowd.

"Hey, Doc, I saw you land," said the American, his blue eyes never leaving her, even though he was talking to other man. "How long're you planning on staying this time?"

"I haven't just landed, Jack," replied the man called the Doctor, his eyes never moving from her. "I've been here almost two days now while Martha's visiting her family. I'm betting the TARDIS you saw land today belongs to this young lady here,"

She didn't need a mirror to tell her that she'd gone pale at the Doctor's words. Instead, she swallowed hard and tilted her chin up. "Look, I really don't know what you're talking about, but I have to be going now, so I'll just leave you two gents to it and be on my way,"

"I don't think so, sweetheart," said Jack, grabbing her left arm as she tried to slip past him and out of the alley. "Where you parked, Doc?"

"Right above the Hub," replied the Doctor. "I think it's time for a visit, don't you, Jack?"

"I think you're right, Doc. Let's go,"

Left with no other option than having her arm pulled out of it's socket, she allowed the man named Jack to pull her along out of the alley and into the crowd. After a few minutes, they stopped on the pavement. Seeing the people pass by them, not even noticing them, it took her less than a minute to realise they were stood in a perception field. When they started to lower, moving through the ground on some sort of lift, she had to swallow hard again as her stomach threatened to revolt.

"So who are you then?" asked the Doctor, but she remained stubbornly quiet, earning a tighter grip from the other man.

"You're hurting me," she told him quietly as the lift came to a stop and he dragged her off it.

"It's the least you need to worry about if you're the Master," he growled, pulling her past several desks, numerous machinery and taking her up a flight of stairs, only letting her go when they'd entered some sort of office. She watched him warily as he shut the door with a quiet click.

"How long?" asked the Doctor, staring at her as if she shouldn't exist.

"How long what?" she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and staring back.

"How long has it been since you last stepped foot on Gallifrey?" he asked.

"How do you know-?"

"Just answer his question!" barked Jack angrily.

"I don't know," she snapped, her own anger beginning to build. "It must be almost five months now. I was sent away during the war. Although, the aim was a bit off. Was supposed to be in the twentieth century, but judging from the look of this place, I hit the twenty-first century instead. Looks like you could do with a cleaner. What is this place anyway? It's like some sort of underground secret base. In which case... I think I'll be quiet now,"

"She talks almost as much as you do," laughed Jack, shaking his head in amusement.

"Jack, could you give us a minute?" asked the Doctor quietly.

"I'll be just outside. Shout if you need anything," replied Jack, opening the door, slipping out, then closing it again.

"Why can't you sense it?" asked the Doctor so suddenly that all she could do was stare at him. "Why can't you feel that empty space?"

"What're you talking about?"

"That emptiness, where they all used to be. Everyone from Gallifrey could feel it, so why can't you?"

"What makes you think I'm going to answer you?"

"Because you want to know who I am as much as I want to know who you are,"

"I was told to block the link off. Not to open it again, as they wouldn't need me. I was told to never open it again,"

She looked at him then. Really looked at him. Tall, skinny, a mop of brown hair and brown eyes. The pain she saw behind those eyes though, made her feel ill just to look at it. Dread filled her as a sickening thought entered her mind.

"What did you mean, 'where they all used to be'?" she asked, letting her arms fall to her sides, her hands clenching so tightly that her nails cut into her palms. "What's happened to Gallifrey?"

"Open the link. See what you can hear,"

She was already doing that even as he spoke. The walls that separated her from the others slid away and she braced herself for the onslaught of minds but... silence. There was only silence apart from the soft tingle from the Doctor. She searched farther, spreading out as much as she could before the headache started, but the result was the same. There was no one else. She closed it down again, blocking everything out, then looked up at the Doctor.

"I don't understand," she told him quietly. "Where are they all?"


	2. History Lesson

Chapter Two

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," the Doctor told her, stepping towards her only for her to move away.

"Where is Gallifrey?" she asked, her voice calm, betraying nothing to him. "Where is my home?"

"There wasn't any other choice," replied the Doctor, holding his hands out to her, pleading for her to believe him. "The whole of creation was at stake, we were losing the battle and I had no other choice,"

"What did you do?" she asked him, her voice quiet, her eyes narrowing to dangerously glittering green slits. "What did you do to Gallifrey, Doctor?"

The Doctor's hands dropped to his sides as he realised that she wasn't going to believe anything from him except the truth. Swallowing hard against the agony in his chest, he tried to push his pain away as he explained what had happened in the last few moments of the Time War. Yet even as he spoke, he could see that she was battling her own emotions. Anger followed by horror, then pain and loss, until finally, as he reached the end of his tale, a coldness settled in her eyes. It chilled him and made his hearts sink.

"Are you trying to tell me," she asked, her voice soft and emotionless, "that after everything that happened, after all the other options ran out, you were the one that put an end to the war, destroying Gallifrey and its surrounding worlds?"

When she put it like that, there was only really one answer he could give her. "Yes," he replied quietly, unable to look at her any longer, instead turning away from her and looking blindly at the wall of Jack's office. "It was me who destroyed our home world. It was my fault that millions lost their lives. It was because of me that so many planets were wiped out of existence to become rocks and dust,"

The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut against the hot tears, fighting to control them, bowing his head at the silence. When he felt a gentle hand take hold of his right one, holding it in a firm grasp, both of his hearts almost stopped dead in his chest. "I don't blame you, Doctor,"

At her soft words, his eyes snapped open and he spun round to face her, a mixture of anger and disbelief lodged in his chest. He pulled his hand from hers and gripped her shoulders tightly, looking down into her eyes, expecting to see the pitiful lie for what it had been. Instead though, all he saw in her emerald gaze was understanding and forgiveness, which only fuelled his anger at himself. Unfortunately, she was the closest person around, and he took it out on her, shaking her hard as he snarled, "Don't you understand? It's my fault they're all dead! We lost, everyone lost. The Daleks survived, they always survive, and I lost everything. The Time War was all for nothing. I even lost my oldest friend and enemy and I'm alone again!"

Through his ranting, he hadn't realised that she'd taken hold of his wrists and, it was only when he's stopped to take a breath that her grip on him began to tighten. As her grip on him did tighten, he was forced to release her, pain shooting up his arms, making him grimace and clearing his head slightly until he realised what he'd just done. Sorrow, loss and guilt brought him to his knees, but instead of standing above him and berating him, she sank down with him, pulling him close, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly to her as he fought for control.

"I don't blame you," he heard her say against his right ear, her breath warm, sending small shivers through him, "I promise you, I don't blame you for what happened. There was no other choice that you knew of to stop the Time War, and you lost a life to it. The guilt isn't yours to carry and you shouldn't have to. There aren't any winners in a war, in any war, no matter where or when it is fought. The Daleks were blinded by hatred just as the Gallifrey High Council was blinded by their arrogance and pride. All I can give you is the truth and the truth is that it wasn't your fault,"

"Who's fault was it then?" he muttered against her shoulder. He felt her arms tighten slightly around him before she moved back, releasing him. Together they stood and, as she straightened her coat and jumper, he was a little disappointed to see that she wouldn't look at him.

"I have to go," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, before she turned from him and walked towards the door.

"Jack won't let you just waltz out of here," he told her. When she stopped and looked back at him over her shoulder, he saw her eyes practically sparkle with mischief. The smile she gave him caused his breath to momentarily get stuck halfway between his lungs and his throat and, when he did breath, he felt himself giving her a wide grin back.

"I don't intend to waltz out," she told him, the laughter in her voice clear for him to hear, making him want to laugh as well. "I intend to walk out. Perhaps run, even. Either way, I'm leaving,"

The Doctor chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he watched her open the door and begin talking to Jack. Whatever she was saying made him want to laugh out loud as Jack's cheeks tuned a deep red and he looked over her shoulder at him, but he didn't dare in case she thought he was laughing at her. After a few more pleading looks from Jack, the Doctor showed him some mercy and walked up behind her. "What's the matter Jack?" he asked, digging his hands deep into his pockets so he didn't reach out and take hold of her hand.

"I was just explaining to your young Captain here," she answered mildly, "that if I didn't get out of this place in less than ten minutes, I would personally cut off his prized possessions and hand them to him on a plate,"

"I thought she was joking," muttered Jack. "Until she told me that she doubted very much that they'd grow back, regardless of the fact that I can't stay dead. I wonder who told her that?"

"Don't look at me!" replied the Doctor indignantly. "It's not my place to point out your flaws,"

"Hey!" argued Jack, part annoyed and part humoured. "If you're going to get personal, which one of us two had satellites for ears?"

For a moment, the Doctor looked at Jack and Jack looked back at him, before both of them burst out laughing. Neither of them noticed their visitor smoothly slip around them, towards Toshiko Sato's work station and the woman herself. After a few moments, their laughter died down and their attention was drawn to Tosh as she sat back in her chair, exclaiming, "Oh my God! How did you do that?"

The Doctor followed Jack over to the work station and stood behind Tosh, looking at the many computer screens along with Owen Harper and Gwen Cooper. At first he was slightly puzzled and pulled his glasses out of his pocket, slipping them on and leaning closer to the monitors. What he saw on the screens didn't seem to make sense, but as he continued to look at them, what they displayed looked to be changing right in front of his eyes. Star systems, galaxies, planetary co-ordinates, whole solar systems, changing and moving in front of his eyes. What he was seeing was the whole universe, from when it had still been young, to when it had finally burned out. Not only this universe, but hundreds of others. He pulled off his glasses and straightened up, frowning at the red head as he looked her over closely.

She looked alarmingly pale, even for a Gallifreyan. Whatever she was looking at, it wasn't them. It seemed that she was watching something only she could see, inside her mind and, whatever it was, it was sapping her strength. He was proved right when she swayed slightly, shaking herself out of whatever state she'd been in, to collect herself and stand up straighter. When she looked at him, he saw that she'd realised he'd seen what had happened.

"Do you have a name?" asked the Doctor, pulling out a chair from a side desk and moving it behind her. She sat down and gave him a grateful smile.

"The name I was labelled with is Evie," she replied calmly, tension beginning to fill her, seeming to radiate off of her.

"I bet you're parents liked that name," said Gwen, giving Evie a kind smile.

The doctor watched as Evie tilted her head to the left, a puzzled little frown on her face as she once again seemed to look off into the distance, as though she were trying to remember something. "I don't know," replied Evie softly. "I didn't have parents,"

"So you're loom borne then?" asked the Doctor, raising his brows slightly with his question.

"Loom borne? No, not loom borne. I just... am," replied Evie, her frown becoming troubled as she rubbed her belly with her right hand. "When everything was still so young, so new. Taken from the centre and held in the white room. Woken too early and sent away too late. Waiting for what feels like forever even when forever is just a blink of an eye away, just around the corner or in the next breath,"

"What're you babbling about?" asked Owen sharply.

Evie blinked and shook her head slightly, looking at them all like it was the first time she'd seen them. "What?" asks Evie, a little defensively, the Doctor thinks.

"Do you normally zone off like a mental patient or is it only when the baby kicks?" asked Owen.

The Doctor shook his head slightly, not quite sure he'd heard right. "The what?" he asked, feeling like he'd missed out on something. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at Evie, his gaze travelling from her rapidly paling face to a softly rounded stomach that he'd somehow missed before.

"Erm... Do you have a wash room? A bathroom?" The Doctor watched as she swallowed hard as she spoke. "A bowel even?"

"Come on!" ordered Owen as he pulled Evie to her feet and dragged her away from the group, taking the turning for the toilets, disappearing from the Doctor's sight. He stared after her, his mind turning thoughts over and over until Jack's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Doc, are you ok?" asked Jack, his blue eyes curious.

"Did he say 'baby'?" asked the Doctor quietly. At Jack's nod the Doctor felt his legs begin to weaken. Before they had the chance to buckle completely, he forced himself to move, striding off in the direction that Owen had taken Evie. The closer he got to the toilets, the more clearly he could hear their voices. Just as he reached the door, he stopped, curiosity getting the better of him and making him stand still.

"So you're from the same place the Doctor is then?" he heard Owen ask.

After a moment of silence, he heard Evie reply. "Yes, I came from Gallifrey,"

"Is the Doctor the father?" At that question, the Doctor scowled and silently scoffed.

"I don't know," came Evie's reply, her voice sounding small and a little lost.

"You must know,"

"No. I was kept sedated, bound. Controlled. White walls, white sheets, white floor. Always white,"

"Are you saying the pregnancy was forced onto you?"

Even as the Doctor heard the disbelief in Owen's voice, he felt white hot rage fill him at the suggestion. When he realised that not all of it was his and some of it was in fact Evie's, he forced himself to calm down enough to listen to their conversation.

"It was needed. Required for the greater good. For all that I am, it still hurt. Badly. But there wasn't any other choice. At least, that was what they believed, at the time,"

"What changed?"

"The Time War. It changed everything. Instead of breeding stock for soldiers, they decided that I had to leave. To preserve the race of the Time Lords, they let me keep this one and sent me away before the unthinkable could happen and the Daleks won,"

"Did they?"

"No," Evie replied, the bitter laugh in her one word clear for the Doctor to hear. "A Time Lord who thought he was a coward was in fact the bravest of them all. He sacrificed everything to stop the war when he didn't have to,"

"I don't follow,"

"The Time Lords were in possession of a weapon far more powerful than they realised and they didn't even know it. A weapon that's existed since before Time began. A weapon that could've wiped out the Daleks and set the universe back to rights,"

"Why didn't they use it then?"

Before she could answer, the doctor heard a high beeping coming from behind he door, followed by Evie's cursing. "I have to go,"


	3. Trouble Brewing

Anything recognised isn't mine, but how I wish they were! As always, reviews are welcomed as they help loads in where it's going. Knowing my mind, it could be Never Never Land!

Chapter Three

When Jack looked up from the computer monitors, he knew instantly that something had happened. Evie was striding out from the toilets, her face impassive but her green eyes practically spitting emerald daggers. The Doctor was following her, storming after her as they made their way to the large, steel circle door that would lead up to the fake Tourist information shop that Ianto Jones guarded. Before Evie even reached the door, it opened for her and she never once stopped in her stride. As Jack caught sight of Owen emerging from the toilets and heading towards the autopsy room, he had a fair idea of what'd happened and, with a grim frown, he followed the doctor down the steps.

"What'd yo do this time, Owen?" demanded Jack, folding his arms over his chest so he didn't end up grabbing the other man by the throat and pinning him against the wall.

"I didn't do anything," replied Owen, moving his tools from one point on the table to the other, then back again, not looking at Jack. His movements were agitated, barely controlled anger in them.

"Well Evie and the Doctor must've had a reason to storm out like they did, and you were with both of them," Jack shot back.

"We were talking. Evie was telling me how she ended up with the baby then something on her watch started beeping. She said she had to go and when she opened the door, there he was. The Doctor. Staring at her like he'd never seen her before. His face was...empty. But his eyes. His eyes were almost black. I don't know. She just shoved him out the way and walked off, him following,"

"What did you and Evie talk about to get him so riled up?"

"It doesn't matter. That's what she told me before leaving," replied Owen, only to suddenly throw the tools to the ground and tip the bench onto its side with, shouting curses left, right and centre.

"Owen-"

"My God, Jack!" raged the younger man, facing him angrily, his hands shaking as he rubbed them down his face, trying to control himself. "They were using her. Like a fucking mare, they were forcing her to have kids so they could be used in their bloody Time War. She said something about quick development, only a few months. As soon a one was borne, they took it away and started the process over again. All of it done surgically so they wouldn't have to wait for the labour time,"

As he spoke, Jack could feel the bile rising in his throat and he had to swallow hard against it. "Why did they send her away then if they still needed soldiers?"

"To preserve their species, according to her," replied Owen dully, finally looking Jack in the eyes.

"When you were with her, did you get the chance to check her vitals or examine her?" asked Jack, forcing himself to get back to the business of finding out exactly what Evie was.

"No, but-"

"But what?"

"She's bleeding', Jack," replied Owen with a sigh. "She's pukin' up blood and she say's it's nothing to worry about. When I offered to take a look, to check she was alright, it felt like the whole room went cold,"

"Well, to the best of my knowledge," replied Jack as he made his way back up the steps, Owen close behind him, "Even for one of the Doctor's kind to be chucking up blood isn't a good thing,"

"Jack!" gasped Tosh breathlessly, meeting the two men at the top of the steps. "Something's happened!"

"What? What's happened?" asked Jack, steadying the smaller woman with his hands on her shoulders while she tried to collect herself.

"It's Gwen," replied Tosh, the worry clear in her face and her voice. "And Ianto,"

"What about them?" demanded Jack, his grip on her tightening slightly as his own worry began to form.

"Gwen went up to check on Evie and the Doctor," said Tosh quickly. "She checked in to say Ianto was gone, then nothing. Gwen's gone missing too,"

"Where? They can't have gotten far," said Owen, already pulling on his jacket and putting his gun in its holster.

"I think I already know," muttered Jack, pulling on his own coat and holstering his gun. "I think, Evie's gone back to her ship. Gwen and Ianto are probably following,"

"That's just it, Jack," said Tosh, her voice quiet but firm. "They didn't even make it past the fountain before they just vanished,"

"A person can't just vanish," argued Owen as they made their way to Tosh's work station, watching as the young woman typed quickly on the numerous keyboards, then sit back slightly as an image of the fountain came up on her monitor. Each of them watched as Evie paced back and forth in front of the fountain, while the Doctor stood besides the lift, hands in his pockets as he watched her. They watched the Doctor suddenly step into Evie's path, making her stop. They were too far away to be heard, but it looked like they were arguing. Just as Ianto came into view of the camera, Gwen right behind him, both Evie and the Doctor clutched their heads, their faces distorted in agony before the dropped to the ground.

"What the Hell?" muttered Owen, only for Tosh to hush him and tell him to keep watching.

On the screen, Ianto and Gwen ran the remaining distance, to drop down besides the two fallen aliens. Less than a minute ticked by before they too seemed to scream out, dropping down and staying down. The picture broke up slightly, becoming fuzzy, then clearing again, to show two black cloaked figures standing above the fallen friends. Again the picture became fuzzy and, when it cleared for the second time, their friends and the two cloaked people had gone.

"Where'd they go?" asked Owen, looking from Tosh to Jack, then back to Tosh again.

"More importantly, how do we get them back?" asked Jack, the worry and fear he felt for Ianto making his voice sound almost like a growl.

"Er... Maybe this will help?" replied Owen, fishing something out of his trouser pocket and dropping it onto the desk for the others to see.

Jack knew immediately what it was. It was a TARDIS key. Not the same shape as the one hung around his neck on a chain under his shirt, but he knew, he sensed that that was what it was.

"And you didn't mention this before, why?" he asked, knowing his voice was cool as he tried to control his anger.

"She told me to keep it safe. Keep it hidden," replied Owen, nervously licking his lips as he struggled to meet Jack's eyes. "Evie said not to tell anyone about it unless something should happen to her and she didn't come back in twenty minutes,"

"I think it's safe to say she's not coming back in twenty minutes," drawled Jack sarcastically, picking up the small silver key. That was when it hit him.

He could feel his breath lodge in his lungs as the images filled his head. Images of white walls, medical equipment, the smell of chemicals. People in what looked like white lab coats moved in and out of his vision. Words like 'surgery' and 'soldier' filtered through his mind. Time around him seemed to fast forward, people moving in and around at a much quicker pace, until the room he was in became dark. Night time. He felt himself moving from the bed he was in, slowly sitting up, nausea and stomach pain causing him to breath deep and move slow. Small steps took him towards what looked like a large mirror, one he knew had other people on the other side, people he could see. People he could hear.

They talked about him as though he was a thing, not a person. They spoke of how when it was all done, he wouldn't even remember his own name, let alone how to feed himself. They talked of a weapon that could produce weaker versions of itself, but still formidable on the front line. They spoke of how they were luck to have found such a thing and of the best possible ways they could control the weapon and utilise it's abilities. He could hear them laugh as they mentioned that this weapon didn't even realise that it was looking at it's own reflection, and that... That was when Captain Jack Harkness looked closer at the reflective glass.

In the darkness of the room, glittering green eyes looked straight back at him.

"Jack?"

The sound of his name pulled him back to the present with such force that he dragged in a breath like a drowning man. It took a moment to realise that he was lying on the floor, Tosh and Owen looking down at him with worry on their faces.

"Jack, what happened?" asked Tosh as he slowly sat up, then staggered to his feet with Owen's help. "One minute you're talking, the next, you're on the ground mumbling about wars and weapons and children,"

Jack looked down at his right hand and uncurled his fingers from around the key. It didn't take a genius to know he's just lived through Evie's memories. The only reason he could think of as to why it hadn't affected Owen, was because the younger man didn't have the energies of the Time Vortex keeping him immortal. This small, ordinary looking key had just acted like a download chip, sending the information right into his brain at his touch.

"Listen up," said Jack, his voice clear and calm, regardless of the emotions churning through him. "Evie left because she knew that, whoever those two people were on the screen, they'd found her. She left to keep them away from us. We get to her ship and use the key, we can find them and bring them back,"

"I don't understand," said Tosh with a puzzled frown. "Why were they after her? Were they hunting her?"

"Evie's more than a Time Lord, like the Doctor," replied Jack, looking at Owen, knowing the younger man had already put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Fuckin' Hell," breathed Owen, leaning against the desk to keep himself standing. "Evie's the weapon she was tellin' me about. The war the Doctor was in. She was tellin' me how it could've ended differently if the Doctor's people had used some sort of ancient weapon. That's why they surgically removed the children she had. Avoiding the trauma of childbirth was the only way they had of controlling her,"

"I'm betting whoever took them won't be so considerate to Evie and God knows what they'll do to the others," said Jack, struggling to keep his anger under control and forcing his voice to remain calm. "Grab what you need. We're getting our people back,"


	4. Tight Situation

Chapter Four

Gwen groaned before she could stop herself. Her head felt as if it were splitting in half, the pounding was so bad. She moved slowly, carefully, bringing her hands to her head and rubbing at her temples.

"Give it a few minutes," said a voice with a strong Welsh accent that rang through her skull like church bells, leaving her only able to grunt in reply.

She did as she was told though. Waiting for the cotton in her head to clear while she began to grow cold from lying on what she could only assume was a metal floor. When she thought she was able to move, she struggled to sit up, grateful for the strong arm behind her back that supported her. Finally opening her eyes, she had to blink away the blurriness before her vision cleared. When it had, she wished she hadn't bothered. Around her there seemed to be nothing but metal walls, with only a pattern or a seam that indicated a door. At least she thought it was a door.

"Bloody Hell," she muttered, rubbing the ache from her eyes. "What the Hell happened?"

"You got caught up in the residue of a psychic attack," replied the Doctor, his voice hoarse, causing Gwen to look at him more closely.

"What does that mean?" she asked, noting how pale and exhausted he looked.

"It means we weren't the targets," replied Ianto as he staggered to his feet, only to have to lean against one of the walls when he swayed slightly. "Whoever took us, were only after the Doctor and Evie. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time,"

"You're smarter than you look, Ianto Jones," said the Doctor, shifting slightly so he could hold more easily, what Gwen realised, was an unconscious Evie

"Is she alright?" asked Gwen, moving over to the two aliens on her knees, not trusting herself to stand.

"I don't know," replied the Doctor, his face calm, but the worry causing his voice to catch slightly. "She should be awake by now, but something is keeping her unconscious,"

"But why were they after the two of you?" The Doctor looked up at her, one eyebrow cocked. "Apart from you being aliens,"

"The attack was specific," said Ianto quietly. "They must've been watching for you. For the right time when it was only the two of you,"

"But how would they know you'd both be together?" asked Gwen, frowning down at Evie's pale face as an idea struck her. "Unless..."

"What? What is it?" asked Ianto, finally moving from the wall to sit down besides them.

"They weren't after the Doctor at all," muttered Gwen, the words leaving her mouth just as quickly as they entered her mind. "They were only after Evie. Evie and her baby,"

"What makes you think that?" asked the Doctor, looking at her like she'd grown a second head.

"It's the baby," replied Gwen quietly, still looking at Evie, seeing her eyes flickering under her closed lids. "It's different from the others. Pure. Not mixed this time, but copied. An exact copy,"

"A copy of what?" demanded the Doctor, his voice holding a slight darkness to it.

"We've got to get out of here," said Ianto, rising to his feet and walking around the room, his hands skimming across the walls and what looked to be the door. "The room's obviously not air tight, so there's got to be some way to trip the locking mechanism of the door,"

"Gwen," said the Doctor, the tone in his voice commanding her attention, holding it as he spoke to her. "How do you know they're after the baby? How do you know it's a copy?"

"Because she told me," replied Gwen honestly, nodding down to Evie. "In my head. She told me, inside my head, what they're after and why. She's so scared and angry. So much anger, so hot, it's almost white. Snapping like the jaws of a wolf, a big, hungry, bad wolf,"

Gwen shook her head, pushing the images away as quickly as she could. She felt herself sway and was immediately and immensely thankful for Ianto's support as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, offering her silent strength. When she looked up at the Doctor, she was shocked to see how pale his face was. What was worse, though, was the agony in his eyes as he stared at her. Such heartbreaking agony that her own heart felt like it would shatter.

"I don't understand what the Hell I just said," muttered Gwen sadly.

"You weren't supposed to," came Evie's reply, weak and barely above a whisper.

"How're you feeling?" asked Gwen, helping the other woman to sit up and lean against the wall behind her.

"Tired," replied Evie quietly, looking at her with a worried frown. "Gwen, I'm sorry I went inside your mind without permission, but I didn't have the chance to ask for it. I am sorry,"

Gwen gave Evie a kind smile and patted her hands. "It's ok. Just try not to do it again, yeah?" replied Gwen. "At least, not without telling me first,"

Evie nodded them closed her eyes, only for them to snap open again at the distinctive sound of the door being unlocked. Gwen helped her to her feet as the door swung open and large, grey creatures that looked vaguely like the stone gargoyles that sat on the tops of buildings, stepped inside. There were only two of them, but both creatures easily reached seven foot high and the width of their muscled bodies completely blocked the doorway. Gwen could hardly believe what she was seeing. Creatures that were covered in scales, but looked and even smelt, like they were made of stone. Ears pointed upwards, bald heads, talons for hands and feet, long thick tails, swinging behind them with angry looking flicks.

The darker one of the two creatures pushed the doctor and herself against the back wall, opposite the door. It didn't bother to watch and see if they stayed there or not and Gwen knew it didn't have to. When the lighter creature wrapped a large, beefy hand around Evie's upper left arm, causing the woman to hiss with pain, Gwen glanced at Ianto. The Welshman's eyes met her's for a split second as their guards turned to leave, and with a nod, both she and Ianto surged away from the wall. In a flurry of movement, too quick for Gwen to really understand what had happened, she found herself on her backside, her head pounding again after connecting with the wall, and the Doctor standing torn, between herself and Ianto, who had been pinned up against the opposite wall, desperately struggling for air and kicking at nothing as the guard held him almost a foot off the ground with almost no effort.

She watched helplessly as the other guard pulled Evie towards the door, coming to a sudden halt, a look of surprised anger on his face, as Evie latched onto the door frame with her free hand, stopping their exit. The other woman looked back at Gwen, confidence and trust in her green eyes, then a slight nod of her head, before she was torn away from her anchor and dragged from the room, the door slamming shut behind them. Gwen looked back to see the Doctor had ended up in the same position Ianto was in, the only difference being that Ianto's struggling was becoming weaker as his eyes were beginning to close. Terror flooded her, freezing her body as she watched the two men she'd come to call friends, dying in front of her very eyes.

Then calm. Such a sudden calm that she knew Evie had something to do with it and, remembering the look in the emerald green eyes, she knew what she had to do.


	5. Not What It Seems

Chapter Five

One minute, his vision was greying and the next, Ianto Jones found himself on the floor, coughing and spluttering, desperately dragging air into his lungs.His throat burned, his head pounded, but he still forced himself to look around for the creature that had attacked him. What he saw, he almost didn't believe. Gwen stood, or rather leaned, against the opposite wall. Her eyes were wide, her face pale while she seemed to be breathing hard herself. She was rubbing her hands as though they'd turned to ice. On the floor between them, lay the creature. Eyes fixed and unseeing, a small trickle of green blood coming from its open mouth.

"Gwen?" he asked uncertainly, pushing himself up onto shaky legs and moving around the monster to stand besides Gwen.

"I didn't know," came Gwen's reply, her voice quiet, strained.

"Gwen, what happened?" asked Ianto, finally looking at her properly. Revulsion and horror were clear on her face, as was denial.

"She killed him," came the Doctor's voice as the Time Lord picked himself up and moved to the door of their cell.

"I didn't mean to. I swear, I didn't know it would happen," said Gwen, shaking her head slightly. "I didn't know. She said it was the quickest way to stop it, but I didn't know it would kill the thing,"

Placing a hand on her left shoulder, Ianto squeezed it slightly in reassurance. "If you hadn't done it, the Doctor and I would be dead," he told her. "There wasn't any other choice,"

"Ianto's right," said the Doctor, his voice calm as he examined the scratch marks on the wall next to the door seal. "Evie didn't give you any other choice but to kill it,"

"Doctor, what was it and what're you looking at?" asked Ianto as he and Gwen joined him at the door.

"That is exactly what it looked like," replied the Doctor cryptically.

"You don't know, do you?" asked Gwen.

"Nope," answered the Doctor, popping 'P' on his answer. "As for what I'm doing, I'm looking at the scratches Evie made,"

"How can you cause scratches like that on metal?" asked Ianto, looking closer at the deep marks, just managing to see a wire beneath one of them.

"I can't," replied the Doctor, crouching down and slipping on a pair of dark framed glasses with one hand, while he tugged at his right ear with the other. "Or rather, Time Lords can't. We don't have that kind of strength to be able to rip into a sheet of metal with our fingers,"

Ianto watched as the Doctor pulled at the wire, managing to bring it out into the open, then starting to use his pinkie finger to fish around in the small hole for more wires. "If you can't do something like that," began Ianto as a niggling doubt itched at the back of his mind, "and you're a Time Lord, then what does that make Evie?"

"Evie," breathed the Doctor, pausing in his work to close his eyes for a moment, before he looked directly at him. "Evie is a bridge we'll cross when we get there. For now though..."

Ianto started when a small spark erupted from the wires, followed but a thin wisp of smoke before the door to the cell slid open and the Doctor jumped to his feet. The Doctor clapped then rubbed his hands together, giving a smile that Ianto just knew was a little bit manic and a little bit fake.

"Let's find out where we are, shall we?" chimed the Doctor, heading out the door with a slight spring in his step before Ianto could answer.

In silence, Ianto followed the Time Lord, Gwen walking quietly besides him. The whole corridor was walls of smooth, white metal, with the odd scratch or two here and there, most of them at waist level. The thought that it was odd, to have marks roughly eight foot apart from each other on a otherwise pristine wall, made him pause, looking at one more closely. As the ideas ran through his head, a sudden thought came to mind.

"Breadcrumbs," he muttered to himself more than the others, yet they still heard him, both stopping to join him where he was stood.

"Ianto?" asked Gwen, exhaustion clear in her voice and on her face.

"Breadcrumbs," he repeated, more confident now that the right idea was forming. "These marks, they're like a trail,"

"What makes you say that?" asked the Doctor, looking at the marks than at him, one eyebrow cocked.

"Every eight feet, the same marks," he replied, looking the Doctor square in the eyes. "On walls that supposedly can't be marked. Evie's leaving us a trail, telling us where she's been taken,"

"And what made you come to that conclusion?" asked the Doctor, his gaze seeming to sharpen.

"I... I don't know," replied Ianto, frowning slightly. "It just came to me. Like..."

"Like a thought," Gwen finished for him. "Like a clear, warm thought, shining through all the others,"

"That's it," he replied, giving a slight nod.

"I thought as much," sighed the Doctor, rubbing the back of his neck as he paced in front of them. "She's using the pair of you through a very weak telepathic link, so we know how to find her,"

"She said she wouldn't do that again," said Gwen, the annoyance and worry in her voice.

"She probably doesn't have a choice," replied the Doctor with apparent mildness as he began walking again. "I don't know, to be able transmit thoughts without touching and from a distance, without mechanical aid, she either has monumental strength or she's unconscious,"

"I'd be willing to bet she's unconscious," said Ianto as he and Gwen once again followed the Doctor. "I have a feeling if she were up and kicking, we'd hear her by now,"

"So why aren't we?" asked Gwen.

"It doesn't matter," replied the Doctor, glancing at them over his shoulder. "What we need to do now is find Evie and get back to the others,"

"I remember the last time we had to find Jack," said Ianto, keeping his voice calm and level as he spoke. "And you, Doctor. Oh, the trouble we went through to get you back with him, both of you stuck in the Cardiff Blitz. Do you remember Gwen?"

Gwen looked at him, a puzzled look on her face. He stared at her, willing her to understand what was happening, even if he didn't understand it himself. Seeing her eyes widen slightly, he knew that she'd cottoned on.

"Oh, God, yeah I remember that one. Can't forget that one," said Gwen, with what Ianto knew was a forced chuckle.

"We did have a good old laugh over that one, didn't we?" said The Doctor, not looking back at them but still walking forwards.

With that, Ianto and Gwen froze in their tracks, glaring at the Doctor as he also stopped and turned to face them.

"What?" he asked, giving them a puzzled look. "What's the matter?"

"Where's the Doctor?" asked Ianto, his voice cold, even.

"What're you talking about? I'm the Doctor,"

"You're not," snapped Gwen, her voice sharp as she and Ianto carefully watched the alien stood in front of them.

"What makes you think that?"

"One: You're not acting like a five year old on a sugar rush," replied Ianto as he tensed his body, ready for the reaction to his next words. "Two: Only Jack and Tosh got trapped in the Cardiff Blitz. And three: The markings on the wall stopped three doors back,"


	6. Meet Eric

Chapter Six

"Ok, I'll bite," said Owen, looking at the large blue box with a scowl. "What's a 1950's police box doing outside of Eddie's?" Edie's being the 1950's stylised café on the edge of the bay, which is where they'd found it.

"This isn't just any old box," replied Jack, fishing the small silver key out of his trouser pocket and fitting it into the lock on the front of the door. "This is a whole different world,"

Pushing the door open, he walked inside, Owen and Tosh hot on his heels. The drop in temperature as they entered was so drastic that their breath instantly clouded out in front of their faces. All around them, a soft mellow green glow lit the darkness.

"What is this place?" asked Tosh, closing the door behind her.

No sooner had she done so, than engines hummed to life and lights flooded the room. Owen swore, but all Tosh could do was gaze about her, hardly able to believe her eyes. Oh, yes, she'd heard Jack talk about how different a TARDIS was on the inside, but she'd never completely believed him. Columns of what looked like corral seemed to have grown up from the floor to all meet in the middle of the ceiling. From that middle fell what looked like a green rotor type machine as far as she could tell. It fell down to be joined to a mushroomed shaped console. Levers and buttons and dials cluttered its surface in what looked to be organised chaos, while a square monitor say quietly on the bottom of the rotor.

"This is a TARDIS," replied Jack, doing a quick circuit around the central column before facing Tosh and Owen. "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. It's a - "

"Spaceship," interrupted Owen, his wide eyes still sweeping around the room. "It's a bloody spaceship!"

"It's dimensionally transcendental," said Tosh in amazement.

"It's what?" asked Owen.

"I believe you would call it bigger on the inside,"

At the sound of the foreign voice, all three of them turned to face the newcomer that stood in front of the doors. A tall, slim looking young man walked up the ramp and towards them, stopping only when they drew their guns guns and aimed for his chest. His skin was pale while his hair was jet black and tied back from his face. His eyes though, were silver.

"Who they Hell are you?" asked Owen, looking between the young man and Jack for answers.

"I am TARDIS," he replied.

"You're named after a ship?" asked Jack, putting his gun away, Owen and Tosh following suit and doing the same.

"No. I am TARDIS," repeated the younger man.

"You're the holographic projected form of the ship, aren't you?" asked Tosh, speaking quickly in excitement.

"That is correct," he replied. "What service do you require?"

"Evie gave us this key," said Jack, holding up the item in question. "We have to find her and our friends. They were taken about fifty minutes ago. We don't know where or who by, but we need to get them back,"

"The action to be taken would depend entirely on who took Evie in the first place," said the TARDIS image. "Please place the key into the provided slot on the console,"

When Jack moved to do so, he paused, noting the many different holes. The image rolled its eyes, before stepping up to stand besides Jack. "Second from the right, third row down, Sir," the image told him.

With a gentle push, Jack slotted the key in, noticing how the image seemed to shiver slightly. Without thinking, out of pure habit, Jack stroked the console as fond memories took hold.

"Jack," sighed Tosh with exasperation.

"What?" he asked, then, "Oh, sorry," when he noticed the dazed look on the hologram's face.

"I see that you have spent time in a TARDIS before," said the image, folding his arms across his chest.

"Sorry," said Jack again, feeling an uncomfortable heat rising in his cheeks, but grinning cheekily regardless. "Old habit,"

"Running program," stated the image, ignoring Jack completely.

After a couple of minutes humming, the TARDIS image blinked in what looked like surprise, before facing all three of them.

"It is a pre-recorded message left in the event that this situation would occur. Do you wish for me to display it?"

"We wouldn't be here if we didn't," replied Owen, leaning against the side railing.

"As you wish," said the image.

No sooner had it spoken than a second image flashed to life besides Tosh, making her jump then stumble against Owen in surprise. Standing calmly in front of them was Evie. Her hair was pulled back in an untidy knot on top of her head, secured there with what looked like a pencil. She stood with her arms by her sides and a sad smile on her face. She wore what looked to be a simple white gown that covered her from shoulders to feet. The soft looking material covered her arms and flowed down with simple beauty. It also showed the roundness of her belly.

"If this message is being played, then it means they have found me," began Evie, only to turn her head as though listening to something off in the distance. "Oh, right. Yes of course," she continued, then faced forward again. "I am of course talking about the N'kian. A race of creatures borne of blood and stone, supposing to exist in the Howling only,"

"The Howling?" asked Tosh.

"She means the Void, the placed between parallel universes," replied Jack, swallowing against a lump in his throat as he remembered what the Doctor had told him about Rose.

The image of Evie rolled her eyes at something being said off screen again. "Ok, ok. The Howling is the place between parallel universes. Some call it Nothingness, others call it Hell, the Time Lords call it the Void. Anyway, the N'Kian resemble the stone gargoyles on the top of some Earth buildings, though why the Hell anyone would want to build such things is beyond me. They are incredibly difficult to stop, even more so to kill. So better off to avoid them all together. In fact, if you're unlucky enough to see one, run. Run like the hounds of Hell are snapping at your heels, because they will be,"

"Is there a point to this, or is she just going to babble on?" demanded Owen impatiently.

"Of course there's a point to me telling you this," replied Evie's image, causing Owen to gape at it while Tosh and Jack stared uneasily. "And that point, is that they are the ones that I'm hiding from. Although, by the look of things, not very successfully. If I am caught, they'll do whatever they have to do, to release the safeguard. Don't let this happen. Once it's been done, there's no stopping it. Alrighty then, now that you've got that little instruction, here's another one,"

"As long as it's plain and simple with as little babbling as possible," muttered Owen.

Evie's image took a deep breath, as though trying to calm herself. "In the event that the weapon is activated, no chances are to be given to it for survival,"

"What?!" demanded Jack, sure he'd heard wrong.

"It's sole function – my sole function – will be to kill. Whatever the controllers want dead will die. You are to do whatever is necessary to make sure I don't survive,"

"She's kidding, right?" asked Tosh nervously. "She's got to be kidding!"

Once again, Evie looked off to the side, muttered something to the unseen speaker, then turned back to face them.

"Be strong. Stay loyal. Hold onto your faith in your friends and yourselves. If you have questions, the TARDIS will answer them," she glanced off to the side once more. "Sorry, Eric will answer them. Good luck and..." she paused, looking to struggle to control herself. "Maybe we'll see each other in another lifetime,"

The three of them watched as the image flickered, then winked out altogether. Tosh and Owen stood silent for less than a minute before they started talking, arguing really. When Jack joined in, each of them were shouting and neither of them were listening as the TARDIS image tried politely to catch their attention. With a dark frown all of it's own, the TARDIS image watched as the three humans clapped their hands over their ears at the sound of a piercing whistle. Satisfied that it had now gotten their attention, all eyes on it, the TARDIS stopped it's whistle and nodded.

"Now that I have your attention, perhaps I can answer your questions,"

"I've got one," said Jack, continuing at the image's nod. "Who's Eric?"

The image beamed a grin at them. "That would be me!"


	7. Surprise!

Chapter Seven

Once again the Doctor pulled at his restraints, clenching his jaw shut to stop any sound from escaping his lips, even as the red hot pain from metal rubbing his wrists raw shot down his arms. A few seconds was all he could manage before he stopped, gathering his strength. By his reckoning, it had been just over an hour since they'd all been taken and around thirty minutes since he'd woken up. He'd quickly discovered that cold metal manacles tethered his wrists and ankles to what he suspected was some sort of medical table. He'd almost had a coronary to both hearts when not only had he realised he'd been stripped of all of his clothes, but he was seeing himself, standing at his side, with said clothes.

With a sinking feeling, the Doctor had looked around the room, seeing various monitors and computers, machines recording his own vitals. Each one beeped or whirred, overly loud in the otherwise quiet room. He had looked up again at his double, trying to decide exactly what it was, a clone perhaps, when a door had opened and a tall, pale man with silver hair had walked in. he'd taken one look at the Doctor, raised his right hand, then had soundly slapped him on his left cheek.

"What was that for?!" demanded the Doctor, tasting blood from his split lip.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" sneered the pale man, before turning from him and calmly pulling the Doctor's double away, manoeuvring it to sit into a chair at the Doctor's feet.

"I would actually, yeah," replied the Doctor, forcing a lightness to his voice, almost a comical tone to it.

"Well, I'll tell you,"

Ok, that had surprised him. His captor must've seen it in his face as well, because he let out a maniacal laugh that sent chills down the Doctor's already cold spine.

"Because I wanted to," said the pale man, not even bothering to turn and look at him as he answered. "I've wanted to do that for a long time,"

"I'm sorry, but am I supposed to know you?" asked the Doctor. "Have we met before?"

"Oh, I should say so," laughed the pale man, tilting the head of the Doctor's double forward slightly, then effortlessly pulling off the back of his skull.

"An android?" muttered the Doctor in disbelief. "You have what looks like a complete genetic laboratory surrounding us and the best you could come up with is a robot?"

"The lab wasn't built for you, Doctor,"

Though the answer had been calm, almost bored, the Doctor hadn't missed the sinister tone in the man's voice as he calmly pressed a button and flipped a small switch. He closed the back of the head and the android stood, looking down at the Doctor with a stony face.

"Don't worry," it said, the exact voice match causing the Doctor's eyes to widen. "I'll take good care of your friends. Especially your mate,"

"Evie is not - " the Doctor began, only to cut himself off as realisation dawned on him. "I see," he growled darkly, beginning to pull at his restraints.

"Do you, Doctor?" asked his captor as he looked down at him, one eyebrow raised arrogantly. "Do you really see that... that creature, for what it is?"

"Evie isn't a creature," the Doctor replied, pausing in his struggles to throw his tormentor an angry look. "She's a Gallifreyan. She's - "

"She's a weapon!" His tormentor's cool slipped as he snarled his interruption, grabbing the Doctor's shoulders and pinning them painfully against the table. "She's a thing, created long before Gallifrey was born. She shouldn't have even been called forward. Always thought they knew better, the pompous, blind fools,"

It was like a switched had suddenly been flicked. His captor's face calmed, becoming cool once more as he stepped away from the Doctor.

"She's still a living, breathing, feeling person!" argued the Doctor, resuming his struggles.

"Not for much longer," laughed the pale man. "Android, place yourself in their cell and... direct those stupid apes to the arena when you get the chance,"

The Doctor watched with dawning horror as the android nodded then silently walked out of the room, leaving the two remaining occupants alone.

"Who are you?" demanded the Doctor coldly, not bothering to hide his anger behind humour as he spoke.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten me already Doctor. I thought we'd grown so close during that year on the Valiant,"

It was then, for the first time, that the Doctor had noticed the ring on the pale man's right-hand ring finger. The green colour separated by the many small circles.

"No," breathed the Doctor in agonising disbelief. "It can't be. You burned. I burnt you myself!"

"Say my name," demanded the pale man, moving to stand directly over the Doctor.

"No,"

"Say. My. Name,"

With each word, the pale man leaned in closer until the Doctor could feel his cold breath ghosting across his own lips. He swallowed hard, fighting against the agony and fear that was balling up in his chest. From the tight smile on the pale face, the Doctor knew the other man had already seen his emotions in his eyes before he'd managed to hide them.

"Say..." He inched closer, cheek pressed to cheek, "My..." Closer still, giving the Doctor the chance to smell his cologne, "Name," Cold lips against his ear.

The Doctor swallowed hard and closed his eyes against the pain and guilt and memories, even as the word passed his lips.

"Master..."


	8. Out of Time

Chapter Eight

As the door closed behind her, Evie flexed her hands, trying to keep the blood flowing in the hand that the N'Kian held onto. She didn't struggle any more as he led her along the corridor, which funnily enough seemed to be putting the creature on edge.

"Let them go," she told her guard quietly. "Let them go and leave this place while you still have the chance,"

For a reply, the guard threw her against the wall. Her head hit back painfully, but it was no where near the pain that shot through her back and around her middle as she slumped down to the ground. It didn't give her the chance to gather herself. In stead, it simply picked her up and threw her against the opposite wall. Even as she slid down, she could feel the first tightening around her middle and she knew that it was already too late. The warm tickle of blood running down over her top lip was the only indication she had that she'd actually been injured.

Using the wall as leverage, she pushed herself to her feet, squeezing her eyes closed against the flashes of light that swam in front of her vision. "Last chance," she told it, her voice raspy even to her own ears. "Let them go then get out. I won't say it again,"

In response, the N'Kian gripped her by her upper arms, lifting her off her feet with no effort at all. It held her close, running it's forked tongue up and over her throat and jaw, before smirking down at her in a show of razor sharp teeth."You are nothing," it snarled at her, its voice dripping with malice. "Nothing except genetic breeding material,"

A laugh bubbled up and escaped her lips before she could stop it, earning herself a rough shake before being thrown to the floor, skidding a little as she came to a stop.

"Why do you laugh?" it demanded, stalking towards her with murder in its eyes.

Again Evie laughed and this time she didn't even try to stop it. There was a note of hysterics in the laugh, but she took no notice as she slowly raised herself up to one knee, her head down, hair hiding her face as concentrated on riding the next wave of pain in her stomach. Her laughter subsided, trailing off to a soft growl that came from the back of her throat.

"You should have taken the chance I offered you," said Evie as she rose to her feet, the tell-tale feeling of wetness running down her inner thighs. "You should have left while you still had time,"

"Your wits have broken," snarled the N'Kian, taking her right arm in a harsh grip and pulling her along as the neared one of the grey doors.

"No," replied Evie quietly. "Just the safeguard,"

She wasn't sure, but there must've been something in the tone of her voice that unsettled the creature, for he released her as quickly as if he'd been burnt.

"Through there," he growled, giving her a slight push as the door opened. Evie walked forwards, not needing to look back over her shoulder to see the N'Kian rubbing the hand he'd held her with over his leg.

As the door closed behind her, Evie scanned the room. Her keen eyes took in the numerous monitors and wires. The computer banks and in the middle, the tall, round liquid filled tank that she knew was an incubation chamber. When her ears picked up the ragged breathing coming from the side, she turned and walked around the curtain that hung from the ceiling. Chained down on a table, various wires and tubes stuck to him or in him, naked as a jay bird, was the Doctor. From the readings of the monitors besides him, his left heart was having trouble keeping up with the right one.

"Evie?" Though the Doctor's voice had been quiet, she'd heard him nonetheless, and she instantly moved to stand besides him, taking hold of his left hand in a firm grip.

"I'm here, Doctor," said Evie quietly, watching as a smile lit his features, before his eyes snapped opened and he looked at her with a worried frown.

"Evie, you have to go, get out of here while you still can," he told her urgently, swallowing against the dryness in his throat.

"I can't," replied Evie sadly, stroking his left cheek with her right hand. "It's too late for that,"

"I have to agree with you there," came a voice from behind her.

Evie didn't bother turning to see who it was. From the panic and fear in the Doctor's eyes, she knew she was lost as another contraction washed through her.

"Let the Doctor and the others go," said Evie quietly as she bowed her head towards the Doctor's hand. "You have what you want. Please, just let them go,"

The bark of almost insane laughter from behind her caused her to squeeze her eyes closed, though not in time to stop a tear leaking and falling from the corner of her right eye.

"Oh, I like this! A Time Lady begging to me for the life of worthless, stupid apes and a pathetic, helpless Doctor,"

At that, Evie surged to her feet, anger already giving her body the strength that the contractions had been sapping. Facing the speaker, she froze as his familiar aura touched her.

"Master," she hissed, scanning the room and quickly taking in the entire equipment that filled it. "So you have me here now. What can you possibly hope to gain?"

"I see you haven't told the Doctor the truth," smirked the Master, folding his arms over his chest as Evie moaned, unable to hide her pain any longer. "Then let's give him a little history lesson, shall we?"

When he grabbed her left upper arm, she couldn't seem find the strength to break away from him. All she could do was stumble along as he pulled her towards the tall holding tank, crying out in pain as she was thrown inside to hit the wall and slide to the floor. The door hissed shut before she could regain her feet, leaving her to kneel against the glass, looking out as the Master walked to the bank of controls. She watched, fists clenched against the glass as pain swept through her, while the Master turned dials and pressed buttons.

The sudden water that began to swim around her knees made her stand quickly, pressing against the glass so she could see the Master as he moved to stand besides the Doctor. As the water rose around her, she could see the Master talking. With each second that passed, the Doctor looked to go from disbelieving to anger, then denial to agony. She didn't have to hear the words to know that the Master was telling the Doctor exactly what she was. When the Doctor looked at her though, it felt like she died inside. There was such pain and heartbreak etched on his face that her tears had soon joined the rising water.

Raising her chin to breath, she quickly sent a message to her TARDIS through their telepathic link and, when she was finally swallowed up by the cold liquid, all she could do was hope that it had been enough. Yet even as she felt herself tearing apart, even as all she could do was beg the Doctor with her eyes not to believe what he'd been told, she knew it hadn't been enough.

A last glance at the world of the living and Evie did the only thing she could do to salvage something from the disaster. She breathed in water and prayed she would die as quickly as possible.


	9. Ray of Hope

Chapter Nine

The Doctor watched as Evie's eye closed. After what felt like hours, her struggles ceased and no more air bubbles came from her mouth. He knew he should feel something, but... nothing. He just felt empty.

"What did you hope to gain by using Evie?" asked the Doctor, his voice dead as he spoke.

"Evie is nothing to me," snapped the Master as he glared down at the Doctor with malice and insanity. "She's simply the vassal in which the weapon is carried. It's the child that I want,"

As the Master spoke, the Doctor noticed a fine crack in the glass of the tank. He watched as it spread and splintered out, similar to a spider's web. He looked back up at the Master, all the while keeping the water filled tank in view.

"So, what? You're going to kill Evie, take the baby and force grow it to become a killer?"

"Exactly," replied the Master with a chilling smile. "And as soon as it's ready, the first thing I'm going to send it after, is that freak of yours,"

"I've told you before, Master," said the Doctor calmly as the water in the tank began to bubble and turn to black ink. "Weapon after weapon and all you do is talk. Speaking of which, you might want to check on the tank,"

The Master turned just in time to see the glass finally shatter, the black water surging out onto the floor, swirling around his feet. As the waves calmed and drained away into the floor, two bodies lay at the base of the tank, barely breathing. He knew one was Evie, the clothes giving it away, but the one that lay next to her was an exact copy, albeit without clothes.

"What did you do?" demanded the Master softly, then shouting in rage, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Before the Doctor could reply, the Master had rounded on him, punching him in the face, in the stomach, taking manic delight that the Doctor couldn't protect himself. He continued beating the Doctor until his own knuckles were raw and bleeding, then reached for one of the scalpels from the table that sat besides the monitors. Cold, slim fingers wrapped around his wrist, preventing him from picking up the sharp tool and causing him to look into black, empty eyes.

The Doctor registered the end of the assault a second before he heard the familiar sounds of the TARDIS engines. Through swelling eyes he searched the room, seeing the Master being thrown against the bank of monitors and controls by Evie, seeing a second Evie, naked and shaking, trying to push herself to her feet only to cry out as she slipped and fell again. A loud bang drew his attention to the door and, with undisguised hope, he watched as the door was kicked open, Captain Jack Harkness barging in with a smoking gun in hand. It was the best thing he'd seen for a long time.

Things were a blur then. He knew he'd been released and was now being covered in Jack's greatcoat. He was helped off the table, his knees almost giving out, then being supported, almost dragged along.

"Which one do we take?" shouted Jack, trying to be heard over the explosions of the equipment.

"The TARDIS said we had to take the new one," replied Owen, even as he slipped the Doctor's free arm over his shoulder while Tosh and Gwen moved over to the whimpering woman on the floor.

"How did you-?" began the Doctor, only for Gwen to interrupt him as Ianto wrapped his jacket around the naked woman.

"Move now, talk later!" snapped Gwen, helping Tosh bring the woman to her feet.

"Time to go!" shouted Ianto as Evie turned to face them.

The Doctor had the sense not to argue for once and simply go where he was led. Even as more explosions rocked through the room and the retreating corridors he'd never been so glad to see the familiar blue box. He didn't have time to question why it was Owen with a key to the door before he was being pulled inside, the other Evie close behind him.

"We have to go back for her," he rasped through split lips as he was helped over to the brown pilot's seat.

"No," replied Jack, already setting co-ordinates and pressing, turning and flipping switches and controls. "The only place we're going is to the Hub,"

"Evie-" argued the Doctor, only to be cut off.

"Evie is gone," snapped Jack, not keeping his back to the Doctor. "The Evie we knew is gone and in her place it that,"

The Doctor looked down to the woman at his feet that Owen was checking over. This didn't make sense. His pain muddled brain was having trouble working through what had happened as he watched the young doctor shining a small light into the woman's eyes, making her cringe away from him.

"Look, Doc," sighed Jack, finally turning to face him and lean against the console. "From what we've been told, now that Evie's been let loose, we can't stop her alone,"

"What the Hell are you talking about, Captain?" the Doctor demanded coldly.

"According to the legends of Gallifrey, your own people's legends, when Gallifrey was created, so was a weapon. It was hidden, deep down in the centre of your world, protected, kept safe from prying eyes," explained Jack patiently. "It was to be used only as a last resort because it would be unstable, hard to control. You know as well as I do that Evie is that weapon,"

"I'd already worked that out," muttered the Doctor, folding his arms over his chest.

"Anyway, what we didn't know, was that for Evie to have control, she'd given your people a choice. They could have as much help that she was capable of giving them, on the condition that everything was done surgically, or there was the more drastic option. They could break the safeguards, allow her to complete a birthing process naturally. The only problem with that was that she wouldn't be able to be controlled. She'd work for the enemy as much as she'd work for the allies," Jack rubbed a hand over his face, scowling down at the woman at his feet. "The point is though, is that she did it willingly, knowing full well what would happen. She could've put a stop to the Time Wars, Doctor. You didn't have to lose them,"

For a long time the Doctor sat in silence, looking down at the shivering woman with a dark frown. What the Master had told him had been true.

_She could've stopped it all and Gallifrey would still be there. You had to destroy your own home because she refused to give them the help they deserved._

Shaking his head, he pushed himself to his feet before kneeling down besides her. "She volunteered," muttered the Doctor, reaching out to touch her face only to pause and draw his hand back. "She may as well have destroyed Gallifrey herself,"

"Listen up, Doctor," snapped Owen, facing the Time Lord bravely. "I don't care what guilt trip you're going on, but our first priority is to get this version of Evie up to full strength. Now that they're split, we won't have a lot of time before your Master friend comes looking for us,"

"What're you rambling about?" scowled the Doctor.

"Tell him Gwen," replied Owen impatiently. "Tell the big and mighty Time Lord what you told us when we found you and Ianto with that psycho robot,"

Gwen stepped forward nervously, glancing at Jack then back to the Doctor. "Two minds, one body," she said, swallowing hard as she continued. "An exact copy for the light to escape into, leaving the darkness behind. A death, then a birth, the two souls finally split, no longer having to fight for dominance. The dark being left behind to be mastered, while the light has to brave the storm and tame the wolf, before it can finally find peace,"

Gwen swayed slightly, Owen already standing besides her and supporting her.

"No, it's impossible," said the Doctor, shaking his head and backing away from the woman at his feet. "Not without destroying two universes,"

"That's what I said," replied Jack with a smirk. "You know what good old Gwen Cooper told me?"

At the Doctor's puzzled look, Jack finally laughed out loud, sweeping up the Time Lord in a crushing hug before planting him back on the chair. "She mentioned something about building blocks for the universes. Space, time, matter. Control over them in the palm of a hand,"

"That's impossible," denied the Doctor, once again looking down at the woman who was now sitting up, fiddling with a button on the coat that Ianto had handed over. "It'd take the genius of a Time Lord..."

"And the imagination of a child," Jack finished for him. "Which, if I'm guessing right, is exactly what we have sitting at our feet,"

The Doctor knelt in front of the woman, tapping her on the shoulder to gain her attention, giving her a soft, friendly smile when she looked at him with puzzled eyes.

"Can you do it?" he demanded firmly. "Can you solve the Skasas Paradigm and cross the Void?"

She cocked her head to the left, a small frown on her face as she looked back at him. "I want Rosie," she whimpered, her bottom lip trembling as tears pooled in her eyes. "I want to go back for Rosie,"

As he watched a big fat tear slide down her left cheek, the Doctor felt like he'd just kicked a puppy. He pulled her against his chest and held her tight.

"We both want her back," he muttered, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"Through the darkness into the golden light," she whispered against his chest. "Putting what is now wrong to what should be right. Bring back the wolf and strengthen the storm, now that the bridge has been born,"

With a frown the Doctor looked down at her, only to see that her eyes were now closed, her right thumb in her mouth as she slept against him.

"I'll take that as a yes then," chuckled the Doctor, stroking her hair and giving her a soft squeeze.

"Doctor?" asked Jack, a smile on his face as he looked down at them. "We're at the hub now,"

"About time," replied the Doctor, giving his old friend a manic grin as Jack gently lifted the woman out of his arms, allowing him to stand.

"Why's that then?" asked Ianto, opening the doors of the TARDIS to reveal the inside of Torchwood Three.

"Because we, ladies and gentlemen," replied the Doctor grinning at them and bouncing on his bare feet, "have a puzzle to solve, Hell to cross through and a beautiful, golden Rose to bring back,"


	10. Teething Problems

Chapter One

They had been back at the Hub for three days now and things were progressively getting worse. The rift had become more active, spitting out everything from ancient Egyptian harem girls to six armed, green aliens. If that hadn't been bad enough, they had a fully grown woman with the behaviour of a six year old to contend with. They'd learnt the hard way to keep her away from the coffee when Ianto made it. Jack still smiled at the memory even now.

It had been the first day they'd been back. Gwen had given their guest some spare clothes and was showing her the delights of cream filled pastry cones. They'd been in the boardroom eating lunch, a rare occasion in itself, when Ianto had come in with a tray of drinks. Coffee all round, except for the Doctor who had tea, and their guest who had a glass of warm milk. They'd been talking about names for her while she had been doing her level best to ignore them and carry on colouring a picture. By the time Owen had gotten around to drinking his coffee, the cup had already been emptied.

Without comment, Ianto had simply refilled it then sat down with them, putting the half filled pot of coffee on the middle of the table. That's when the first thing was spat through the rift that day. Each of them had gathered what they'd needed and headed out, leaving their guest alone with her pictures. It'd taken most of the day but, with the Doctor's help, they'd managed to round up the small group of Vikings. It was when they'd returned back to the Hub, the Doctor returning to his own TARDIS after realising the one in the hub wasn't his, and placed their catch in the cells that they realised something was wrong.

The sounds of squeals rang out through the entire place. Squeals and laughter. Before they could pinpoint where it'd been coming from, the source of it came running from the direction of the archives, laughing her head off, the pterodactyl hot on her heals, screeching in what could have been its own amusement. The young woman had skidded to a stop in front of them, panting for breath, cheeks rosy, green eyes bright with excitement, beaming a smile at them. With a screech from the pterodactyl, she was off again, chasing it around the water tower, the animal staying just low enough for her to touch it.

As the day wore on, she seemed to be getting under everyone's feet. She was constantly looking over Tosh's shoulder at the monitors. He'd lost count of the amount of times Gwen had had to stick her case files back up on her display wall after the red head had taken them down to look at them. Owen had been a funny one though. He'd been showing her how to wrap a bandage around his left wrist and before they knew what had happened, she'd mummified him and had been advancing on him with one of his own scalpels while he'd screamed like a little girl.

The final straw though, came when Ianto had caught her in Jack's office. Somehow, she'd managed to get into the draw of his desk that he kept his gun locked in. As silent as ever, Ianto had stepped into the room, behind her. He hadn't seen what she held and when he gave a polite cough to gain her attention, she'd spun so suddenly that she'd dropped the gun and it'd gone off.

The sound of the gunshot and her screams had brought each one of them to their feet and running up the the bored room, their hearts in their throats. When they'd entered, they'd found Ianto, on the floor, with blood pouring out of the gunshot wound on his shoulder. She'd been sobbing and saying she was sorry over and over while Ianto had been telling her it'd been an accident. They'd pushed her aside, out of the way so that Owen could work on Ianto and no one had really noticed that she'd gone. No one except Ianto.

When they'd seen Ianto's shoulder, unmarked and uninjured, regardless of the blood, questions had instantly risen. Calmly and quietly, Ianto had told them that it had been an accident, saying Jack shouldn't have left the gun in his office in the first place. He told them that she'd healed him, even if he didn't know how. It was only then that they'd realised that she'd gone. Tosh searched the Hub's CCTV footage to find that their guest had gone up the flight of stairs that led to the tourist information office. Following her movements, they soon realised that she'd gone higher. To the roof of the Wales Millennium Centre.

Reassured that Ianto was fine, Jack made his way up, finally coming to a stop a few meters behind her. "I hadn't meant to hurt him, you know," she told him, speaking before he could talk first. "I was surprised and dropped it, then it went off,"

Though she'd spoken, she hadn't looked back at him. Her attention was kept on the view in front of her.

"That's no excuse," replied Jack, trying to keep the anger from his voice and failing badly if her stiffening back was anything to go by. "What you did was stupid and dangerous and Ianto could've been killed,"

"I'm sorry," she told him, the words almost being carried away with the wind.

Walking carefully towards her, he came to a stop besides her, trying to see what she was looking at that could be so fascinating.

"Saying you're sorry just won't cut it," replied Jack with a heavy sigh. "You're in a place that holds a lot of dangerous equipment. You've been getting in everyone's way and then to top it off you hurt one of my team. You have to realise that your actions have consequences,"

"I'm not a child,"

"Then stop acting like one!"

Before he knew what had happened, she'd turned to face him and was holding both of his hands in her smaller ones. He looked down at her to see her eyes were closed and a small frown of concentration was etched on her face.

"Well if you really wanted me to hold you all you had to do was ask," joked Jack with a grin, only for the grin to fade at her next words.

"I am less than a day old," she told him, her voice quiet and calm. "But I remember everything that Evie does. Can you imagine that? Having so much stuff running through your head, being able to see things in such a different way, but not knowing how to make sense of it all yet,"

"No," replied Jack softly, swallowing hard. "No, I can't,"

"Do you have any idea what it's like, to look around you and see everything, every atom of every particle, of every cell? To see the people, the trees, the very moisture that is carried on the breeze, all of it shining with life. To feel it all, fizzing against your skin, touching you with thousands, millions of kisses that are so light you're not even sure they've touched you at all. Do you know what that is like, Jack?"

"No, I don't," replied Jack, feeling slightly disappointed when her hands slipped from his and she turned back to the bay.

"It's amazing. Amazing and frightening and I can see it all, Jack. Every second, every minute that passes and you... You shine almost as bright as Rosie can. I can see it all and I'm sorry if I don't act like you want me to. I'm sorry if I'm nothing but trouble or that I'm always in the way. I am sorry that I'm not Evie,"

Even though that last sentence had been muttered under her breath, he'd heard it clearly and it was then that he realised what was going on. He and the Doctor had come to like Evie in the short time they'd known her and, somehow, this strange, beautiful creature standing besides him, had sensed it. Which meant, if she'd done that, then she'd also sensed his annoyance and dislike when they'd first met. She was trying to learn, to fit in and please them and, unfortunately, miserably failing.

He'd had to admire her, that day on the roof top. She hadn't pitched a fit or whined at getting the third degree. She'd listened, took it in, and had acknowledged it. Which had made him feel all the more guilty for delivering a lecture that he knew she'd deserved. He'd turned and began to walk towards the door that would lead him inside, when a sudden thought had caused him to stop.

"You know," he called back over his shoulder, "I always did like the name Genny,"

She hadn't said anything to that and he'd carried on walking away. Looking back at it now, as he stood in his office, looking over his team and the two silent, matching TARDISes, he realised he should've gone back to her. At least then he would've seen her tears and the shadow that passed over her eyes.


	11. Off We Go!

Chapter Two

Pacing around the console again, tugging at his hair distractedly, the Doctor thought that maybe, just maybe, he was going insane. It was quite possible. After all, after arriving at the Hub, learning what had happened to that young man, Ianto, and then finding that Evie – no, sorry, it was Genny – refused to come down from the the roof of the Wales Millennium Centre, is was definitely possible that they were all working hard to drive him completely round the bend.

Kicking the console, the Doctor cursed as he threw himself into the captain's chair and brought his now throbbing foot up onto his knee. He didn't know how much longer he could stand all this waiting around. He just wasn't someone who, well, waited. He just wanted to get going and get back to Rose. Of course, without Genny, he couldn't do it. She hadn't actually said that she could either, but she hadn't said she couldn't. He rubbed a hand down his face and almost missed it, the slight tremor that ran through his ship.

"What's the matter, old girl?" he asked his ship quietly, giving the console a gentle pat, only to snatch his hand back at the shock she gave him. "What was that for?"

Another tremor shook the ship, slightly stronger this time, causing him to frown up at the green, pulsating time rotor. When a third caused him to grab onto the console to stop his ass from meeting the metal floor, he decided that it wasn't his ship that was at fault. It was whatever was happening outside. With a muttered curse, he released the console and charged down the ramp towards the doors, flinging them open with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance.

No sooner had he opened them than he found himself being dragged outside by the front of his pinstripe jacket to face a furious Captain Jack Harkness. Sparing a quick glance around, he saw the entire Hub had been devastated by what could have been described as an earthquake. Glass office walls had shattered, computers had exploded or toppled from their perch, cables had been torn loose and were swinging in the air, sparking with deadly electricity and to top it all off... there was a sodding great big crack in the wall of the water fountain heading straight up.

"I don't care how you do it!" shouted Jack above the noise of devastation. "Just get her to stop!"

"Get who to stop what?" asked the Doctor, untangling Jack's fingers from his jacket.

As an answer to his question, he noticed Genny walking out of the stairwell that led up to the tourist information office. Ianto had his arm around her waist and her left arm over his shoulders. By the looks of her, she could hardly walk straight, never mind walk at all. She looked as white as a sheet and, as they neared, he realised that she was shaking.

"Did it work?" she asked, looking to the Doctor with glazed eyes.

"What the Hell have you done to my base?!" demanded Jack angrily, pulling her away from Ianto and gripping her the shoulders tightly, making her wince.

"Jack!" snapped the Doctor, pulling the man's hands from Genny's shoulders and staring him in the eyes as he spoke. "Let her finish," This last part was said more quietly, the pleading note in his voice not missed by Jack.

Neither of them had time to continue arguing. Genny had swayed so suddenly that both men had slipped an arm around her waist, both startled at how hot her skin felt through her top and at how hard she was shivering. When her knees buckled, they went down to the floor with her, both men holding onto her as they laid her gently on the cold concrete. The Doctor was just about to touch his fingers to her temple, determined to find out what had happened, when images suddenly flooded his mind, quick and sharp, causing the breath in his lungs to catch and his beating hearts to stall.

Light. Blinding, living light covering everything in the bay. It covered the people that moved beneath him, it floated off the railings around the fountain and the fountain itself... It practically glowed, the water flowing down seemed to look as though it were made of liquid gold. All these particles of energy were drifting quicker and quicker, through the air, straight towards the fountain, making it burn brighter and brighter with what he could only describe as life. Then he was falling and falling and the ground was rushing up to meet him and then...

With a hoarse gasp he pushed himself away from the images in his head and looked down at Genny with disbelief. "You fell off the roof!" exclaimed the Doctor.

"What're you talking about?" asked Jack, looking at the Doctor with a mixture of confusion and worry.

"She fell off the roof!" the Doctor replied, looking at Jack as though the immortal should understand. "She fell off the damn roof and survived,"

The Doctor looked down at Genny when she moaned, not missing the way Ianto knelt and placed a restraining hand on her left shoulder when she opened her eyes.

"What happened, Yan?" she asked, causing the Welshman to blush and Jack's eyebrows to raise. "Did it work?"

"I think it did," replied Ianto gently, gifting her with a rare smile. "I think you did it, Genny,"

"Ianto, tell me what the Hell is going on!" ordered Jack as the Doctor noticed Gwen, Owen and Tosh coming out from the safety of underneath their desks.

Owen instantly dropped to his knees besides Genny, pushing Jack and the Doctor out of the way as he checked over the young woman on the floor. The Doctor stood and stepped away, looking up at the water tower as he realised what had happened. Genny had managed to open a small gap in the rift and, somehow, she was keeping in under control. Though for how long, he had no idea.

"She's suffering from exhaustion," stated Owen grimly. "And I can smell coffee on her,"

When the Doctor glared at Ianto, the young man lifted his chin in defiance and glared right back. "She needed it," Ianto told him calmly. "She had to stay focused and she needed the caffeine for the energy,"

"Leaving her to drop when she'd finished!" argued the Doctor, not missing the flash of guilt on Ianto's face.

"No arguing," said Genny firmly as she held out her right hand for the Doctor.

Taking hold of her hand, he hauled her to her feet, keeping a firm grip on her when she staggered. "He put you at risk," said the Doctor, snapping his mouth shut when she turned her green eyes on him, her left eyebrow raised.

"You saw what happened," she told him, her voice calm and quiet. "Yan was only doing what I asked, so don't you dare blame him,"

"What exactly did happen?" asked Gwen quietly as she looked around at the mess and Tosh checked her work station, more importantly, her computers.

"She's opened the rift!" squealed Tosh in excitement before she gasped as she realised what she'd said. "Oh God, she opened the rift!"

The Doctor could feel his jaw drop as Jack swore and Genny giggled. He could not believe it. After all the warnings he'd ever given to humans, and it turned out one of his own people had to be stupid enough to open the bloody rift!

"Tosh!" barked Jack, glaring at Genny which only seemed to make her giggle harder, though she did try to hid it behind her hand. "What's the damage done top side?"

"Nothing," replied Tosh, something like awe in her voice. "There's absolutely nothing wrong, nothing's happening at all and there's nothing being reported. Even the cracks in the rift have grown quiet, though they're still open,"

"That's not possible," muttered Jack, moving to read over Tosh's shoulder.

"Possible or not, it's done," said the Doctor grimly. At the tone in his voice, he noticed Genny cringe, then look up at him with unsure, sad eyes and a trembling bottom lip.

"Did I get it wrong?" she asked him, her voice small and full of doubt.

With a big sigh the Doctor ran his hand through his hair then tugged on his right ear. "No, no you didn't get it wrong," he told her gently, already feeling guilt gnawing at him. "You could've given Jack some more warning, but you didn't get it wrong,"

"It won't last long," she told him, already pulling him towards his TARDIS. "We have to go now if we're going to get through,"

"Right, I'm with you," said Ianto as he followed closely behind her, only to be drawn up short by Jack grabbing hold of his arm and turning him round.

"Ianto?" asked Jack.

"I trust her Jack," replied Ianto, the Doctor smiling slightly as he heard their conversation. "I trust her just like you trust the Doctor,"

After a tense moment where the Doctor thought that they might argue some more, Jack nodded then turned to the rest of his team.

"Tosh, do you think you, Gwen and Owen can handle this end?" asked Jack.

"Yeah, we should be fine," replied Tosh, glancing quickly at her computer, then back at Jack. "Everything is quiet, though I don;t know for how long,"

"We'll be as quick as we can," said Jack, fixing Owen a look that said 'don't screw up'.

"No problems, Harkness," said the young doctor with a nod. "We'll see when you get back,"

With one last look at his team, Jack followed Genny and Ianto into the TARDIS. The doctor watched them go, then turned to the remaining three Torchwood team.

"Things won't stay quiet," he told them seriously. "Genny has punched a hole through a rift that shouldn't be able to go into another dimension. I don't know yet how she's done it, but you need to be ready. I have a feeling everything's going to change now that it's done,"

"Don't worry, Doctor," replied Gwen quietly. "We're as ready as we'll ever be. Just make sure you get back safely,"

He gave them a wide, almost manic grin and barked a laugh. "Back before you know it,"


	12. Twisted Evie

Chapter Three

Tosh watched as the large blue box that Jack called the TARDIS faded out of sight. The noise reminded her of an old, almost ancient machine, as it vanished, the wind currents it caused now having died down. With a small sigh, she looked around the Hub, already missing Ianto and his impeccable knowledge of what the place should look like when tidy.

"What now?" asked Gwen as she picked up and righted the chair at her desk. "Do we just sit here and wait for them to come back?"

"No, we have no idea how long they're gonna be," replied Owen grimly as he started to sort through his own work station. "We might as well sort this lot out then go on from there,"

Just as Tosh lifted her chair back into position, something on her monitor caught her eye and she looked closer at it. "That can't be right," she muttered, bringing up a closer look of the image she was watching from the CCTV of the fake information office that led down to the Hub. "It can't be but... I'm seeing it,"

"What's wrong?" asked Gwen as she and Owen stood either side of Tosh, staring at the screen.

"She's back," replied Tosh quietly with a small frown. "She's only just left, but she's back,"

The three of them watched as the image on the screen closed and locked the door to the public, turning the sign around to read 'closed'. It seemed so odd that when she looked straight at the camera they jumped back slightly. Her black eyes looked dead and empty, while the smile she gave the camera was cold, calculating and just a little bit insane.

"Evie," growled Owen, just before the image blacked out all together. "Fuck! It's Evie!"

Even as he spoke, he'd already drawn his gun and was now scanning the various entrances to the hub. "Owen?" asked Gwen, drawing her own gun, looking at her one time lover, her eyes wide and frightened. "What's going on Owen? What the fuck's going on?!"

Before he could answer, the lights went down, leaving them in pitch black, then blood red as the emergency power came on. "Tosh?" barked Owen, causing Tosh to start slightly.

"We're in partial lock down," replied Tosh as she frantically tapped the various keys on her keyboard. "I'm searching now, but it looks as though it's only the exterior doors that's been sealed shut. Otherwise, we can go anywhere in the Hub,"

"Do you think she managed to get inside before the lock down?" asked Gwen nervously as they watched each and every CCTV monitor black out. "I'll take that as a yes,"

"We have to find a way outta here," said Owen as Tosh quickly brought up the layout of the Hub and all available corridors.

"Nothing," stated Tosh, hitting her favoured computer in frustration. "There's no way out of here without boosting the power supply with the strobes,"

"If we give you enough time, do you think you can do it?" asked Owen as he threw a comm-link ear piece to Gwen then to Tosh. "Can you get things running again just enough to get out of the Hub?"

"Yes," replied Tosh, biting her bottom lip as a thought crossed her mind. "What about Evie?"

"What about me?"

At the sound of her voice, all three of them spun to face the woman who was now walking down the steps from Jack's office, her movements slow and predatory, confident, even though three guns were locked on her.

"Go, Tosh," muttered Owen in a hushed tone. "Gwen, go with her,"

"We can't just leave you!" exclaimed Tosh, even as Gwen pulled her along with her.

"We have to," snapped Gwen, fear making her voice harsh.

"Go!" hissed Owen as he backed away from the retreating women, hoping that Evie would follow him, then cursing when he realised that she was, not even sparing Gwen or Tosh a second look.

Tosh only glanced back once, to see Owen drawing Evie away from them as the ran deeper into the bowel of the Hub. She couldn't think about Owen now. She had to get to the back-up generator cells and get them fixed into the system. Yet even as they moved, going further down the corridors than Tosh could ever remember going before, she could still hear Owen's conversation with Evie over the comm-link.

888888

"Are you really going to shoot me, Owen?" asked Evie calmly as she continued to follow Owen towards the autopsy room. "It's still me. Still the Evie that you helped to calm down, still the Evie who gave you a key to her home,"

"You're not her!" snarled Owen, gripping his gun hand tighter as he backed down the step into the autopsy room. "She's gone. She's dead,"

"Oh, but Owen, I'm very much alive," she smiled at him as she stepped towards him.

"I will shoot you!" Owen barked at her, as he backed up against a table of instruments.

"I don't think so," she told him, her smile vanishing, causing Owen to blink.

In that split second, she had surged forward, ripped the gun from his hand and pinned his hand to the table behind him. It took another three seconds for his stunned mind to register the agony radiating from his right hand, causing him to cry out in pain. When he looked for the source of it, he was horrified to see one of his own scalpels protruding from the middle of the back of hiss hand.

Owen swung out with his left fist, only to curse when she effortlessly dogged it then grabbed his wrist in a hand that held the strength of iron. Though he strained against her, she pushed that hand down to the table also. When he met her gaze, the insanity and hunger he saw in her eyes caused ice to trickle down his spine. A flash of silver off to his left, then an explosion of red hot pain in his hand let him know that she'd pinned him with another scalpel.

His breathing was ragged, coming in deep gulps so he wouldn't be sick, as he leant against the very table he was pinned to. "You're one sick bitch," he snarled through his pain.

He reared backward at her cold, maniacal laughter and he knew then, that he'd never been so scared in his life. More scared than when Abbadon had come out of the rift and started killing people. She wasn't going to kill him. He could see it in the way she grinned at him and the way she leaned towards him. He was going to suffer at her hands and she would revel in it.

"Why don't we listen to some tunes?" she said softly as screaming came through on his blue-tooth ear piece, cutting short any hope he had of the girls being safe. "Now that's music to my ears, little boy. Brilliant, isn't it, when a body can be in more than one place at a time,"

"You bitch!" snarled Owen through his nausea. "You fuckin', sadistic -!"

His cursing was cut off as she wrapped her right hand around his throat, bending him backwards over the table, causing fresh agony to erupt from his wounded hands. He looked up at her, his eyes flicking from her face to the scalpel she held, then back to her face as she seemed to examine it with mild curiosity.

"If you think I'm a bitch now..." she told him, her voice soft and calm, her cold black eyes resting on him as she spoke, "... just imagine what I'll be like when you're on your knees and begging me to kill you,"

It was with those last few words that Owen felt the first cut of the blade.


	13. Together At Last

Chapter Four

The Doctor had only took three, maybe four steps, out of the TADIS, before something quick and hard, feeling suspiciously like a hand, cracked against his left cheek. He felt himself hitting the TARDIS doors behind him before sinking to the ground. Clutching his burning cheek, he looked up with wide, shocked eyes, into the furious face of one Jackie Tyler.

"Well it took you long enough to get here!"

He opened his mouth to reply, then thought better of it and snapped it closed again. If he was going to get into an argument with Jackie, then he wanted to do it standing up. That way he'd already be on his feet and ready to run... wait a minute...

"She did it!" he crowed, jumping to his feet and wrapping his arms around Jackie, swinging her around then planting her back on the ground before giving her a sound kiss on the lips.

The Doctor jumped back as he realised what he'd done. He didn't even mind that he was pushed out of the way as, with a high pitched squeal, Genny bounded out of the TARDIS and flung herself into Jackie's arms. He watched with disbelief and curiosity as the older woman hugged Genny tightly, before moving her back a little to look more closely at her.

"Evie's changed then?" asked Jackie a little darkly.

The Doctor could only gape at the pair of them as Genny gave a small nod and a sniffle. "No choice," replied Genny quietly, obviously trying not to cringe away from whatever emotion Jackie was feeling.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," said Jackie, her voice more kinder now as she drew Genny in for another quick hug. "I almost forgot about your empa-thing-y,"

When the two women separated, the Doctor coughed pointedly, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at them. Although, the way Jackie was looking at him, he had a feeling it was more of a pout and Time Lords do not pout. Behind him, the Doctor heard the TARDIS door open, letting him know that Jack and Ianto had stepped out.

"Well, who do we have here?" asked Jack, immediately stepping forward and taking Jackie's right hand in his own. "Captain Jack Harkness. And who're you?"

The Doctor watched in amusement as Jackie replied, telling the Captain exactly who she was and what she thought about him, then watching as Jack stepped back quickly even as a deep red coloured is cheeks. He hadn't thought anyone could make the immortal blush like that. It was only when Ianto stepped forward to introduce himself that the Doctor noticed the young man's slightly dishevelled appearance. His tie a little loose, his normally neat hair a little untidy. It didn't take a genius, namely himself, to figure out what had kept them in the TARDIS for so long.

Finally getting the chance to look around at where they'd materialised, the Doctor was surprised to see they were in the large driveway of the Tyler estate. "Where's Rose?" he asked, blinking in surprise as he realised that he'd asked the question out loud.

"She's inside, waiting," replied Jackie, taking the Doctor by surprise, tucking her hand through the crook of his left arm and pulling him along with her. "She's busy preparing the medical equipment,"

"For what?" demanded the Doctor, taking hold of Jackie's shoulders and looking down at her with what he knew was a worried glare. "What's wrong with Rose? What's happened to her?"

"Nothing's wrong with Rose!" snapped Jackie, breaking away from the Doctor and moving over to take hold of Genny's right hand. "How old are you, sweetheart?"

"Three days," replied Genny quietly.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so sorry," said Jackie, the sympathy clear in her voice. "Did they make you do it? Is that why you did it so early?"

"No, no. It's not their fault. I promise, it's not,"

For the first time in a long time, the Doctor watched on with shocked disbelief as Jackie Tyler wrapped a protective arm around the other woman and led her up the driveway towards the front door of the house. Trailing behind the two woman, Jack and Ianto, the Doctor had the distinct feeling he'd just missed something very important.

When they came to the open door, the Doctor stopped, watching as the others walked in ahead of him. So much had happened, was still happening and, damn it he still didn't know what Genny had done to get them here. Feeling like the coward he thought himself to be, the Doctor turned and only managed a step away when a soft cough froze him in his tracks.

"Just where d'you think you're going?"

His hearts stuttered painfully in his chest, the breath lodged in his lungs and it suddenly felt like a fist was twisting about in his insides. The Doctor took a deep breath and pulled himself together, pushing the agony he'd felt the past couple of years deep down, even as he turned and faced the speaker.

There she stood. As bright and as full of life as she'd been the last time he'd seen her. He just managed to take in her longer hair, tear filled eyes and almost manic grin before she launched herself into his arms. The Doctor held her tightly to his chest as he spun them both around. When he finally put her back on her feet, he began planting kissed over her cheeks, her forehead, her jaw, everywhere he could reach on her face. Then, with a gentle tenderness that caused his hands to tremble as he held her face between his palm, he brushed his mouth against her own, requesting permission and begging entrance and forgiveness all at once.

He heard a small sob before she granted his request and then he was exploring her mouth, his tongue dancing with hers. All too soon, she drew back, her teeth playfully tugging his bottom lip before he stood, looking down at her with what he knew just had to be a soppy, stupid grin. When she reached up and brushed a thumb along his left cheek, he was surprised to find it wet with tears he hadn't realised he'd shed. He closed his eyes from her searching gaze, unwilling to taint her happiness with his own guilt and pain, however, when she spoke his name, he couldn't help but look at her.

"Oh, Doctor," she said, her voice soft and warm and holding all the love that he saw in her hazel eyes as she looked up at him. "My Doctor. Don't hide from me now, please, not when I love you so much it hurts,"

"Rassillion!" the Doctor cried out, pulling her up against him again, terror at the thought of losing her again making him tighten his grip a little. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I swear Rose, I swear I didn't think there was a way to get back. I had no idea it could be done safely, without destroying both universes and I love you, I love you so much I don't know what I'd do if I lost you again, I don't even think travelling would-"

The palm of her hand over his mouth cut off his words, making him realise he'd been babbling, but he couldn't have stopped himself if he'd tried. She wasn't angry though. She looked up at him with kind, gentle eyes that shone with love and understanding and pure happiness.

"Tell me that part again, Doctor," she said, her tongue poking out between her teeth as she smiled brightly at him, mischief in her eyes as she removed her hand from his lips.

The Doctor ran over what he'd said, furiously trying to think what he'd said that she wanted him to repeat, but for once in his life, his mind refused to work and he drew a blank.

"Will this help?" she asked before ghosting a kiss over his lips then looking back up at him with a shy smile.

"Rose Tyler," replied the Doctor, his voice solemn and raw, the emotions he felt carried in his words clearly for her to hear, "I love you. I love you with both of my hearts and so much more I'd be willing to burn up another sun to stay here with you,"

When tears spilled over onto her cheeks, he was suddenly worried that he'd been mistaken, that perhaps she didn't love him. The bright smile she gave him quelled those fears and he drew her into another hug.

"If you two have quite finished?" enquired a voice from the doorway, causing the pair to face Jackie, still keeping contact with their hands held and their fingers entwined. Both of them noticed the worried fear on Jackie's face as she looked at them.

"What is it? What's happened?" asked the Doctor, a nagging concern itching at his mind.

"Rose," replied Jackie, her voice trembling slightly with sadness. "Genny is only three days old, not seven. She came through too soon,"


	14. Aftershock

Chapter Five

"Looks like you were expecting us," commented the Doctor as he followed Rose and Jackie into the house.

"We were," replied Jackie, leading them up the stairs and to the right. "Well, sort of,"

Stopping at one of the doors on the left of the corridor, Jackie gave the Doctor a comforting smile and a nervous pat on his right arm before leaving them there, telling them that she was going to make some tea. The Doctor didn't know what was more worrying. The fact that Jackie Tyler seemed to like this regeneration, or the fact that she'd seen it necessary to offer some sort of reassurance.

"Rose," said the Doctor, turning her to face him, not missing the look of worry on her face as he spoke. "Tell me what's going on. How could you possibly know that we were coming through if..."

"If Evie hadn't already been through her self," Rose finished for him. "Yeah, that's how we knew you were coming and it's how Genny knew she'd be able to get through,"

"You saw Evie?" asked the Doctor, his mind working furiously to process what he was being told.

"Look, let's just get everyone settled then I'll tell you as much as I can, yeah?"

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, but the scream on the other side of the door cut him off. With barely a glance at Rose, he pushed the door open and surged into the room, his sonic screwdriver already in his hand. What confronted him though, froze him in his tracks.

Pete Tyler and Ianto were trying their damnedest to hold Genny down on the single sized medical bed, trying to keep their grips on her even as she continuously pushed them back as she sat up. Jack held her face between her hands, talking to her and trying to calm her down, keeping his voice calm and his words clear. From the unfocused look in her eyes though, the Doctor could tell that Jack wasn't having much success.

When the Doctor would have moved towards her, he felt a restraining hand on his right arm and he looked down at Rose. Though she didn't look at him, instead keeping her eyes on the scene in front of them, she answered his unspoken question.

"Her empathy will go crazy if any more of us get any closer," said Rose, her voice soft, but unable to hide the waver in it. "She's confused enough as it is,"

"Jack!" ordered the Doctor, fighting against the urge to wade into the problem himself. "Get Genny to focus on something. Anything. Just take her mind off everything else she's feeling,"

Jack barely gave him a glance before he turned back to Genny. Without a word, he sealed his lips to hers, putting every positive emotion he could into the kiss. After a moment, her struggles lessened and Pete and Ianto released their grip on her, moving away. Though Genny held onto Jack's wrists, the immortal continued to push his way through whatever barriers that had seized her mind. When he felt wetness touch his thumbs, he gently broke the kiss, resting his forehead against her own as he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Make it stop, Jack," she told him... begged him, her voice a choked whisper. "Please, make it stop before it gets too strong. Kill me,"

The Doctor hadn't missed her plea, nor did he miss Jack's hands begin to tremble.

"I won't do that," replied Jack, his voice firm and angry. "You can't ask me to do that and I won't,"

"Please Jack, please," she sobbed openly. "I don't want it to hurt any more. I can't stand it any longer. So much pain, so much fear. I don't want it - "

"It's alright," said Jack, combing her hair away from her face as more tears escaped her control. "It's OK to be scared, to be frightened,"

The Doctor tensed as he watched Genny lean back to look Jack in the eyes, a far away look in her own gaze.

"Down, so far through the years," muttered Genny, her voice soft but clear. "Past the pain and through the fears. Amongst the shadows, dark and cold, comes something new and something old. Torn apart in the past and brought together, but not to last,"

"What does that mean?" demanded Jack, an odd harshness to his voice and a haunted look to his eyes.

When Genny's gaze sharpened and focused on Jack, the Doctor had to stop himself from physically shivering as he felt ice running down his spine.

"I see you, Captain Jack Harkness," hissed Genny, pure hatred and malice in her voice, even as the blood began to drip from her nose. "Time Agent, companion, leader. Immortal. It's a shame that your young doctor is not. If it's any consolation though, neither are the women,"

No sooner had the words left her mouth than the Doctor saw her stiffen, her head fall back and then her eyes close. Not waiting for a second warning off Rose, he surged forwards and laid her down on the bed, snapping orders at Jack, Ianto and Pete to hold her down as her body became wracked with seizures. Though none of them wanted to hurt her, they had to use considerable force just to keep her still enough that the Doctor could could give her a sedative that wouldn't be lethal to her. After what felt like hours, but were only minutes, Genny's body became limp, lying on the bed with an eerie stillness.

As a precaution they fastened the medical restraints around her wrists and ankles, hoping they would stop her from hurting herself, then attached her to the various monitors that would keep an eye on her vitals and alert them if anything should happen. Running his hand through his hair in frustration, the Doctor turned and faced Rose.

"I know," she told him, worry and sadness dulling her hazel eyes. "We need to talk,"

"Go on ahead," said Pete, already pulling up a chair and sitting down besides Genny. "I'll let you know if anything happens,"

"Thanks Dad," replied Rose, the quick flash of pride on Pete's face not going unnoticed by the Doctor as Rose took him by the arm and dragged him out of the room, Jack and Ianto following.

"So my little Rosebud," said the Doctor as they descended the stairs and walked towards the kitchen. "Just what have you been up to?"

"We've been preparing," replied Rose gravely.

"What for?" asked Jack.

"For war," replied Rose, a deadness to her voice that the Doctor had hoped never to hear from his Rose. "For war,"


	15. Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud

Chapter Six

Jack watched silently as they each sat at the large kitchen table, each with a cup of tea in their hands and a plate of biscuits in the middle. At the head of the table sat a small, fourteen inch television with a built in DVD player. He looked at the Doctor and Rose, noting how the young woman held tightly to the Time Lord,s hands. Jack could tell that the Doctor was bursting with the need to ask questions, but as Rose had told him, he kept silent. When Rose looked up, meeting Jack's gaze, the immortal couldn't believe the depth of the sorrow he saw in her eyes. It was like she was mourning someone.

Another sniffle drew his eyes to Jackie, who sat on the other side of Rose. The older woman held a tissue to her eyes, trying desperately to stop her tears, though Jack couldn't understand why she would be crying. Or why either woman should be so upset. A soft cough from Ianto caused him to look at the young Welsh man. He was surprised to see sadness in his blur-grey eyes and, just as he was going to comment on it, Rose stood up and opened a DVD case in front of the TV.

"This should explain a damn sight better than I ever could," she told them, slipping the disc into the player then sitting back down next to the Doctor. "It should answer a lot of the questions you have,"

After a few minutes of silence, the screen flickers to life, and in front of them is an image of Genny or Evie. It could've been either of them, though this image wore a pair of shades so black that her eyes were hidden from view.

"Right then," spoke the image, an odd finality to her voice. "I guess if you're seeing this, then I've died. Well, I say died, but I guess you could call it shifted. Or reborn. Yeah, I like that one better. Reborn. Makes it sound like there's a chance things could work out in the end," She gave an embarrassed cough then continued. "As I was saying, I've most likely been killed. In the event that that has happened, what makes me, me, will be shifted to a new body, hopefully one of my choosing. In other words, everything I know and everything I can do, will be sort of split, right down the middle. The only thing that would be left would be a darkness, a creature that will have no mercy whatsoever, regardless of the fact that it might look like me or hold the same knowledge as me. It will hurt and kill not just for the pleasure of it, but simply because it can,"

"That would be Evie, then," stated Ianto quietly.

"Yes, that would be Evie," said the image with a small frown above the rim of the shades she wore. "Now, listen up because this is where you have to pay close attention. Doctor, Jack, Ianto and Martha. If you are seeing this then you've made it through just fine, but I'm willing to bet my new body hasn't. Seven days from birth and her mind will have matured enough to withstand the pressures of controlling the life energies around her required to pass through the void. But as this is playing, I'm guessing that idea flew out the window and she had to move you through sooner than expected. And just so you understand, that darkness that's inside Evie... it's in me as well, in which case the two of us would be linked,"

"That's what she was on about when she said she could see you, Jack," said the Doctor. "It was Evie using the bond through Genny to find out where we'd gone,"

"I'm sure that as clever as the Doctor is, he's already figured it out," continued the image, causing the Doctor's jaw to drop slightly. "The problem with that link though, is that just as my new form could make it through to this dimension, then so will Evie and, I'm betting that she'll be just a little pissed at you for taking what she wants. That would be the body that you have with you. Or rather, the power it holds now that you're through. Now, I don't know about you lot, but from what Rose has told me, I should be able to trust you, so the care of my new form is in your hands. Don't screw it up,"

"Yes ma'am," muttered Jack, crossing his arms over his chest, irritated at being spoken to like a child.

"That's enough of that," the image said, and Jack got the distinct feeling that she was looking at him, which was impossible. "Now, let's see what we've got. We have the Oncoming Storm, the Bad Wolf, the Immortal Warrior, the Empathic Child and the Loyal Heart. My new body has served its purpose as the bridge to cross through dimensions, so unless it's got a new purpose it will simply rot away. After all, I'm willing to bet there's no one stupid enough to kiss their life away and die for it. Evie is loose now, free to roam and destroy when the fancy takes her, with nothing that can equal her now that we've all come this far. All that can be done now, is to help those that have been devastated and to warn those that are waiting for it to happen,"

"She's cheerful, isn't she?" muttered the Doctor, only to pout when Rose shushed him.

"I've already explained this to Rose and her family," said the image, her voice soft and saddened. "There's nothing else I can do to help. I'm dying, and if you stay too long to try and fix it, then the bridge between the dimensions will close and you will be trapped here. I can only say that I'm sorry, so very sorry that I couldn't survive long enough to do more for you,"

They watched in stunned silence as the woman on the screen bowed her head, took her shades off with her right hand and scrubbed her left hand over her face, before lifting her head and looking directly at the camera. Gasps sounded around the table as they looked into the shining green eyes of the woman on the screen. Her eyes would've looked normal if it hadn't been for the black, cat like slit of the pupil where it should've been round.

"Be strong, have faith in each other and never, ever give up," she told them, giving them a rueful smile. "Sometimes, we're at our strongest when we have nothing left to give,"

The image blinked out, leaving a black screen staring at them.

"Evie came here almost three months ago," said Rose, tiredness in her voice. "She explained what was happening and what would need to be done if things should go wrong. The only problem was that she didn't tell us how to fix it. She just said that we wouldn't have enough years to figure it out,"

"I have," muttered Jack, more to himself than to the others, but as the idea took form, he looked at each of them in turn. "I can do it. I can fix her,"

"What're you talking about?" asked Jackie, blowing her nose on a tissue.

"She said it herself," replied Jack. "No one's stupid enough to die for her. I can though,"

"Doctor?" asked Rose, so much hope in her voice that it was almost painful to hear.

"Jack's immortal," replied the Doctor, giving Rose a bright grin as he realised what Jack was on about. "He might die, but he doesn't stay dead. He can do it,"

"Really?" asked Jackie, looking at Jack with the same desperate hope that her daughter was looking at him with.

"I don't see why not," replied Jack, already standing and pulling his long coat off to lay it over the back of his chair. "She's not dead yet, so there should be a chance that it'll work,"

"Thank you Jack," cried Jackie, giving him a quick hug before heading out of the kitchen, saying that she was going to talk to Pete.

"Doctor?" asked Rose. "Who's Martha?"

"Well, she.." began the Doctor, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort, even as Jack saw a dull red stain the Time Lord's cheeks. "I was in a hospital and... we were on the moon... a nasty old lady, but she wasn't really a lady, she was an alien, a Plasmavore. Well, anyway, the police for hire, the Judoon... Jack?"

Jack only laughed as his name was practically squeaked out. "Oh no, Doc," replied Jack, pulling Ianto to his feet and leading the younger man with him towards the door. "This one's all yours. I'll let you know how it goes,"

With another chuckle, Jack led Ianto out of the kitchen, the ominous warning in Roses voice as she once again asked who Martha was, making him quicken his stride just that little bit more. It was with relief that jack opened the door to Genny's room, ushering Ianto in with him.

"Is Jackie right?" demanded Pete, standing between Genny and Jack, clearly unwilling to let Jack near the unconscious woman. "Can you really help her or were you just trying to con us?"

Jack hid the wince at Pete's words. It seemed that Rose had told him all about her travels with the Doctor and himself. So it was with the utmost honesty that Jack allowed the other man to read his sincerity as he answered.

"I'm not lying to you, Pete. I really can help Genny back,"

After a moment of tense silence, Pete nodded. "Then you'd better get to it," he said, a grim note to his words. "Because exactly two minutes ago, all of our CCTV, out entire surveillance network, went down, and there's been no reply from the security staff since then,"


	16. From The Flames

Chapter Seven

'Do what you can' Jack had told Pete and Jackie. 'But don't try to fight her. Just stay out of Evie's path and try to help who you can'.

As a second explosion rocked the foundations of the Tyler estate, Jack Harkness realised he'd told them the wrong thing. He should've told them to run. As fast and as far as they could. To run and don't look back. Now, he was looking down at very pale, barely breathing Genny. Ianto was stood at the open door, gun in hand, looking back and forth between the hallway and Jack.

He didn't understand. It should've worked, just like it had with Ianto when the half cyber-converted Lias had almost killed him. So why the Hell hadn't it worked?! At the sound of another rumble, Ianto left the doorway and was at the side of the bed, already pulling Genny up and shifting her unconscious form over his shoulder.

"Yan?" asked Jack, taking the younger man's place at the doorway, looking up and down the hallway before looking back at Ianto.

"We can't stay here, Jack," replied Ianto, shifting his burden to a more comfortable position before joining the older man. "We're not safe here. Too boxed in and easily cornered,"

"Fine," growled Jack in reply, pushing the younger man out and down the hallway, his own gun drawn as he kept his eyes on their retreat, his Webley gun in his hand ready for anything. "We need to find the Doctor,"

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than their pursuer rounded the corner and Jack got his first look at what was causing such effective devastation on the Tyler estate. Jack wasn't even sure what the Hell it was. It looked like a big, blob of black ink, slipping and sliding along the floor, following them. A very fast blob, he amended, as he urged Ianto to move faster.

Coming to the flight of stairs that would lead them down to the front door, Jack just managed to glimpse back at the thing that was following them, when he felt a sharp tug on the back of his shirt and then he was falling backwards. He heard the cry of alarm from Ianto a split second before pain pounded into him from all sides, hitting his head, his back, shoulders and finally knocking the air out of his lungs as his mad tumble came to a stop.

He let out a small groan as he opened his eyes, slightly disturbed to be looking directly at the ceiling. As he rolled onto his front, ready to push himself up, he hissed out a breath, pain lancing up his right arm. A quick glance at the offending limb, the swelling and dark bruising beginning to emerge, told Jack that it was broken. Using his left hand, Jack pushed himself up against the bottom of the banister and looked up the stairs for their pursuer. It'd gone. Why? Where the bloody Hell had it gone to?

Even as the questions raced through his mind, a faint rasping sound reached his ears and he zeroed in on its source. His heart stalled painfully in his chest as he found Ianto lying on the floor about a foot away, Genny sprawled half on top of him, unmoving. From the looks of things, the younger man had taken the brunt of the fall, making sure he was the one that took most of the knocks as he and Genny had fallen.

Crawling quickly over to the pair, Jack leaned over Iant, tapping the right side of the younger man's face, forcing him to focus through his pain filled eyes. "Ianto, I need you to tell me what hurts," said Jack, keeping his voice firm and clear. "What happened? Ianto Jones, look at me!"

"Jack?" muttered Ianto, wincing as he tried to move.

"Hold still," replied Jack, carefully moving Genny aside then quickly checking Ianto for any broken bones. When he was satisfied there were none, he helped the younger man to sit up. "What happened, Yan?"

"I'm not sure," said Ianto, rubbing the back of his neck, wincing again as he caught a tender spot. "I'd just got a couple of steps down, when I felt something pulling at me. Then I was falling. I tried to stop, but I guess it didn't work. I kept her close, wrapped my arms around her and kept her head against my shoulder as best I could so she wouldn't get hurt as much,"

"You did good, Yan," Jack told him, frowning when he saw Ianto's eyes widen as he looked over his shoulder.

Jack didn't get the chance to ask what was wrong. Cold, large fingers clamped around the back of his neck and he was pulled away, hoisted off the ground to kick out at thin air, his gun lying forgotten on the floor. Jack clawed at the thick fingers, trying desperately to pull them loose. The grip on his neck only tightened further, cutting off his air. Through his struggle to breath and his greying vision, Jack could only watch as the front doors of the house were ripped away from their hinges to be tossed aside as though they were bits of paper.

Two large, winged creatures, (the Gargoyles Jack dimly remembered Ianto describing to him back at the Hub), entered through the now ruined entrance. Somewhere at the back of his brain, Jack knew it was one of those creatures that held him now, kicking the air, struggling to breath, like a fish out of water that hung on the end of a line. Before his world could black out, he was released, sent dropping to the ground, crying out as more damage was done to his already injured arm, even as he dragged air into his lungs. Air that was released in a scream as something surged through the middle of his back, forcing him flat onto the ground and pinning him down.

"Jack!" cried Ianto, moving towards him, only to be pushed backwards, landing heavily over Genny. An unnaturally still, unnaturally pale Genny.

"Oooh, how sweet," drawled a horribly familiar voice from the shattered doorway. "The Freak has his own toy-boy,"

Jack turned his head, straining his neck as best as he could to see the dark suited figure walking in, stepping between the two winged creatures. He didn't have to be able to see the man's face to know his nightmares had just become real again.

"Master," gasped Jack as whatever was pinning him was pushed further through him and into the floor.

"Leave him alone!" snarled Ianto as he struggled to his knees.

Before Jack could draw breath, the Time Lord snatched one of the long swords from the creature on his left and, with a snarl of his own, drove the blade through Ianto's right shoulder and into the wall behind, effectively pinning the young man to the wall on his knees. Though Ianto hadn't cried out, the look of surprised agony on his face and his fast ragged breathing told Jack that Ianto was suffering horribly.

"The female has expired, Master," growled the creature to the Master's right.

"Then this was a wasted trip," replied the Master with a childish scowl. "What about the others? The Doctor and his little group,"

"We have the Doctor, but the humans have escaped," replied the creature that stood above Jack.

"Then hunt them down and kill them!" snapped the Master angrily. "If nothing else, I learn from my mistakes,"

Jack watched helplessly as two of the creatures left through the doors they'd ripped open, leaving, then looked up at the Master as he crouched in front of Ianto and gripped him harshly by the chin.

"I wonder if a stupid little ape of a human would make a good a scream as the Freak," said the Master, more to himself than to anyone else.

"You bastard," hissed Jack, only to cry out when the blade pinning him was given a vicious twist, causing his lower half to suddenly go numb, telling him that his spine had just been severed.

The Master laughed, the insanity in the sound clear as a bell, as he bounced to his feet and faced Jack.

"Don't worry, Freak," the Master told him, his laughter dying and his voice filling with hatred. "I'm not having any of you left alive this time. It was bad enough that one filthy little human girl ruined everything before. You're lot won't get that chance again," Then to the creature above Jack the Master directed. "Torch the entire place. I want this whole place to burn to the ground, I want nothing but ash and cinders left. If you want to, you can have fun with the Freak before you kill him. When it's done, drag his body out and play again,"

Without a second glance at them, the Master turned and walked out. The creature left with them moved to stand in front of Jack and, with one hand, pulled the long blade from Jack's body before wiping Jack's own blood on his crippled back. He didn't have the chance to shield his head before he was being punched, claws gouging into the flesh of his face. Needless to say, darkness soon took him.

When Jack opened his eyes again, it took his pain induced mind time to realise that he hadn't been killed. His legs were useless, his whole head felt thick from agony, and he could hardly focus on anything for long enough before his vision doubled and blurred. He looked over to where he'd seen Ianto last, a knot of fear clenching in his chest as he saw the younger man lying on the floor next to Genny, his left arm laying protectively over her chest. He didn't know if Ianto was alive or not and only managed to cough up blood when he tried to call out to him before blacking out.

Heat surrounded him the next time Jack opened his eyes. He couldn't stop the horror from choking off his cry of pain, even as the thick smoke choked of his breathing. The fierce glow of the fire as it consumed the banister and parts of the walls made his eyes hurt, and some part of him even registered the hot lick of flames on his back. Even the floor beneath his left cheek was no longer cold, now becoming heated by the fire. So this was how it ended. The Doctor now at the mercy of his most hated enemy, Rose and her family being hunted down and slaughtered, while Ianto, Genny and himself were left to burn to death, only for himself to come back alone.

Jack spared a glance over at Ianto, shock causing his chest to heave in the acrid smoke around him. Ianto was struggling to push himself to his knees even as he crawled towards Jack. It was then that Jack realised hat was wrong with what he was seeing. Genny had gone. Had her body been taken when he'd blacked out? He couldn't be sure...

Feet. Bare feet stepped into his line of sight. When the small toes wiggled in front of him, he couldn't stop a bark of laughter, though he knew it was tainted with the edge of hysteria. Strong hands gripped him under his arms and he could feel himself being pulled away from those wiggling toes. In the back of his mind, he knew Ianto was talking to him while dragging him across the ground, but all he could do was laugh again when he saw his breath begin to fog out in front of his face. It was getting cold. Real cold, real fast.

The last thing Jack saw before passing out was the thick, white layer of ice spreading out from beneath those bare feet.


	17. Breaking Twin Hearts

Chapter Eight

Rose leaned against the door frame of the medical bay. She made sure her movements were silent and unhurried so as not to startle the young man who was sat at the bedside of the unconscious Captain Jack Harkness. His dark head was bowed and only held up with one hand while his other held onto Jacks left hand. His slumped shoulders spoke of exhaustion and seemed to be weighed down with the worries of the world. A feeling Rose Tyler knew all too well.

"I don't mind you know."

At the soft voice with its strong Welsh accent Rose started. She felt slightly guilty at being caught spying but she moved to the bedside anyway.

"What don't you mind?" asked Rose while looking down at Jacks pale face as she moved his hair from his eyes.

Her whole family with Genny, Ianto and Jack had been in the TARDIS now for almost two days. When she'd found out that the Doctor had been taken Rose had instantly kicked up a storm. She'd been yelling and screaming then crying and begging to go after him. They had to save him. They had to get him back before Evie or the Master could kill him. That was when Genny had stepped in. No longer limited by the mind of a child. Her every movement was that of someone who knew what Rose was feeling.

The older woman had taken Rose by the shoulders and given her a little shake. Then she had looked her straight in the eyes. The other woman's pain was clear for Rose to see.

"Please," Rose had begged even as her voice caught on a quiet sob. "Please. I can't lose him again Genny. I just can't. I can't go on again like that. I'm not strong enough to do it again."

"You are stronger than you think, Rose Marion Tyler," Genny had told her quietly but firmly. "The valiant child who did not die in battle, but instead lived. The Bad Wolf who tore through the stars and the very fabric of space and time to save the one she loved. The golden warrior who is still only a child herself."

"I'm not a child." Rose had replied automatically.

"Then do not act like you are."

Though a retort had sprung to mind Rose had wisely kept her mouth shut. She'd had a feeling that there was more to be said.

"While you are separate you can each be hurt," Genny had told her. "So now is not the time to be burning your bridges and turning your back on those around you. Those that hold you close to their hearts. While the Doctor is indeed in danger and most probably going through torment," she'd held a hand up to let Rose know that she hadn't finished and to not even think about interrupting. "Jack and Ianto are hurt. Your younger brother will be safe enough exploring the TARDIS with Jackie and Pete. In the meantime, I will need your help. I need you to have a clear head, a strong heart and the stubborn, infuriatingly determined streak that makes up a part of you that the Doctor loves so much."

Rose had let out a half laugh, half sob at that. "I can do it," she'd told Genny, already determined to do what she had to in order to get the Doctor back. "I will do it."

Genny had looked at her, silent and assessing. Her green eyes boring into Rose, looking for what, Rose couldn't have said. Then a grin, bright and sudden. So much like the Doctor's that it tore at Roses heart. Whatever she'd been looking for, she'd obviously found it. With a clap of her hands, Genny had shot away, already tearing around the console with smooth, sleek movements as though she'd piloted the Doctors TARDIS all her life. They were through the Void, into the Time Vortex before they'd known what had hit them.

Jackie and Pete had been given a quick check over, declared fit then told to explore, not to worry about getting lost as the ship would look after them. Between the three of them, they'd managed to haul Jack's unconscious body to the medical bay, where they worked hard to patch him up. The other choice had been flat out killing him and none of them had wanted to do that. Once they had all been settled, Genny had left them to it, disappearing amongst the corridors of the TARDIS. They hadn't seen her since.

"Rose?"

Iantos worried voice brought her out of her memories and she gave him a reassuring smile as she looked down at him. "Yeah?"

"I don't mind that you love Jack," replied Ianto, his own smile sad. "Or that Jack loves you, really. Because he does, you know."

"Oh, Ianto," sighed Rose, quickly seeing what was troubling the young Welsh man. "It's true, Jack and I do love each other." At the flash of pain she saw in his eyes, she quickly carried on before he could interrupt her. "But we love each other like a brother and sister loves each other. It's obvious that Jack loves you. That Jack is in love with you and would die for you. But would you do that much for him?"

"Time and time again," replied Ianto, his voice cracking slightly with the strength of his emotions. "God, if I could swap places with him.."

"Wouldn't let you," came the rasped voice from the bed.

Rose beamed a wide smile at Jack, watching as he struggled to open his eyes. "Welcome back to the land of the living, Captain," said Rose softly, giving Jack a soft kiss on the forehead, a gentle stroke of fingers against his still very pale left cheek, before straightening up and giving Ianto a quick, friendly hug. "I'll leave you to it."

Not waiting for an answer, Rose quickly and silently slipped out of the room and made her way towards the console room. She was surprised to see Genny standing against the console, her palms resting on the surface, her green eyes unblinking as she watched the monitor carefully. The Time Lady had changed so much since they'd escaped from the Master. Rose recognised a regeneration now when she saw one.

Where Genny had once been pale, her skin held a very slight golden tint to it. Her hair had darkened slightly, no longer the lighter shade of blood, but more the full bodied colour of a red wine. She was now perhaps an inch or two taller than what she had been, with a quiet strength about her that hadn't been there before. Her eyes were still green, but they seemed older, wiser now and so much more saddened. Rose knew that most – if not all – of her memories had been regained.

"Jack's awake then," said Genny, not asking a question but stating a fact.

"Yeah, he is," replied Rose as she made her way over to the battered leather seat and sat down. "I left Ianto with him for now."

"You did very well, Rose," the older woman said, her voice holding a note of pride in it that caused Roses cheeks to heat. "So well, in fact, that I think it's time to raise the stakes a bit."

"Yeah? How do you mean?"

When Genny looked up at her, Rose could do nothing to stop the cold fingers of ice that snaked down her spine. There was something in the other woman's eyes that caused Rose's heart to suddenly pound with instinctive fear. She'd seen that kind of look before. A predatory gaze, one that an enemy would hold once it had decided it wanted to kill something... or someone.

Rose never had the chance to scream. She barely had to chance to draw breath before she found herself pressed back against the battered seat as strong fingers tightened around her throat, cutting off her air. She felt her eyes widen with fear as Genny leaned forward, pressing her lips against her left ear.

"Trust me," the other woman hissed, her voice low and holding the hint of a growl.

Darkness consumed her before Rose could even attempt a reply.

88888888888888888888888

The Doctor paced around his cell for what felt like the hundredth time. He was trapped in a cold, dark room that had no door or corners, not even a crack in the wall or floor. He'd been stripped of his over coat and his suit jacket. They'd even taken his shoes and socks as well as his sonic screwdriver. As quickly as his mind was running through ideas for escape, the Doctor knew he wouldn't be getting out unless they wanted him out.

He'd just started on another lap, when he stumbled, his mind and his hearts seeming to freeze for a moment before starting again. The image that flooded his mind had him dropping to his knees while agony and sorrow and despair tore at his very centre.

In his mind the Doctor watched with a mixture of horror and disbelief as he saw Rose pinned against the old captain's chair of his TARDIS. She was writhing and struggling to breath, to escape the grip around her throat. In a burst of light her body suddenly exploded into fine golden mist and for a moment the Doctor couldn't breath.

The scream that tore from his throat was filled with such anguish and denial it could have only been described as the sound of a creature that had gone insane with unbelievable agony. The Doctor hoped he had gone mad and the image he'd just seen wasn't real.

His hearts told him otherwise, even as they shattered again.


End file.
